<DIV>For <I>New York Times</I> reporter Dennis Covington, what began as a journalistic assignment?covering the trial of an Alabama pastor convicted of attempting to murder his wife with poisonous snakes?would evolve into a headlong plunge into a bizarre, mysterious, and ultimately irresistible world of unshakable faith: the world of holiness snake handling.<P>Set in the heart of Appalachia, <I>Salvation on Sand Mountain</I> is Covington's unsurpassed and chillingly captivating exploration of the nature, power, and extremity of faith?an exploration that gradually turns inward, until Covington finds himself taking up the snakes.</DIV>