When twelve-year-old Dani runs away to the Appalachian Trail where her parents met, she isn't expecting her mother to go with her, but she does. Ms Bradley convincingly portrays both the emotions of a young girl and the pain of her divorced parents. There is adventure and pathos and a lot of growing up in this story of a family learning to know one another better and to live with a shared grief. Even minor characters are well drawn, full of goodness and frailty. The realistic portrayal of distance hiking in the Appalachian Mountains makes me itch to take to the woods with my own daughters.

Women poets in Appalachia have been pretty much overshadowed by their male counterparts--Fred Chappell, Robert Morgan, Charles Wright, for example. But tucked away in their coves and hollows, some women have been writing poetry that is the equal of those celebrated male poets and have been doing so for quite a while. This collection begins to give these women their due. Although I could have wished for more poems to go along with the essays, I am happy to have this introductory edition, because I hope it will spur more interest in women poets in Appalachia. It is a fine companion volume to Joyce Dyer's wonderful BLOODROOT, a collection of essays by Appalachian women writers.
Who could doubt that poets like Kathryn Stripling Byer, Maggie Anderson, George Ella Lyon, and Lynn Powell are as deserving of notice and praise as their male counterparts? The essays on Byer and Powell are especially well done. The authors, Anne Richman and John Lang, are excellent critics and their observations illuminate the work of two writers who have themselves illuminated their place in the southern Appalachians.
Felicia Mitchell has done poetry lovers a huge favor by gathering together the voices in this book. The authors of the essays are, as she says, "open-minded critics whose balanced analyses help to shed light not only on Appalachian women's poetry but also on a segment of contemporary poetry that is far richer than some people yet know--but will, if this book does its job."
Let's hope that it does. Move over Jorie Graham, Louise Gluck, Ellen Voigt, and others "up there" in your literary hotbeds. These mountain women are writing poetry that spins its language in ways more engaging than most of what shows up in the pages of THE NEW YORKER or the Norton Series of Poets. Give them a listen. You'll like what you hear.

There are many books about the AT, but this one is superb for it's detail and attention to partial sections for hiking. Can be used for thru hiking as well. Gives day and overnight parking details, profile of terrain, degree of difficulty, recommended direction, water and shelter locations, topo maps, mileage etc. Everything that a hiker needs!! Excellent.

Before I read "Exploring the Appalachian Trail - Hikes in the Virginias", I thought you could only experience the Appalachian Trail on an extended backpacking expedition. Man, was I wrong! Even if you only have a few hours to spare, you can still enjoy hiking on the AT - this book shows you how. One of a series covering the entire trail from Georgia to Maine, this book describes a wide variety of dayhikes in Virginia.

With this book, I've explored many beautiful sections of the trail in that state - including McAfee Knob, Grayson Highlands, and Shenandoah National Park. You can bet that I will continue to use the "Exploring the Appalachian Trail" series in planning future hikes on the AT!

This book is excellent for anyone who likes to hike in new hampshire, but likes to stick to the presidentials. It's informative, compact and an essentail edition to any hikers pack. It comes with a map of the range, too. Now is a great time to buy because the AMC maps have just been given a make-over. They are now full colorized and eaiser to read. A very cool feature with the map is that it has an iset of Mount Washington from the hermit lake shelter to the summit. All in all, a wonderful book.

This was an extremely well written book, and I should know, having grown up in the area these stories originated from. Mr. Morgan writes in the language of the Carolina Mountain people. A language that soothes the soul, and calls us home. As we would say here in NC to this author,"You done your Mama proud."

This book is an excellent example of documentary photography of a people and way of life that is slowly (or quickly depending on where you live) passing from the American landscape. Builder Levy has a strong empathy for his subject and for the people he portrays in these marvelous b&w photographs. Buy and read this book (and share it with friends) if you have any interest at all in coal people and Appalachia.

This book collects most of the written material available and includes actual person-to-person contact to document the Primitive Baptist Universalist church in Central Appalachia. Well-researched and well-written, this book describes a religious group that is remarkable for its openness and extreme forgiveness in a region traditionally viewed as fundamentalist, crude, and harsh. Readers must wade through excessive detail at times but if they persevere, the detail helps to color in the shades of this unique group.

My five-year-old daughter just adores this book and I love to read it to her! We giggle and laugh all the way through it. It's a really cute tale of a little man who just doesn't seem to size up, but when he uses his head he finds that he really can 'chase giants!'

Anyone interested in the White Mountains of New Hampshire will be fascinated by this compelling account of Joe Dodge, the real Old Man of the mountains. Putnam weaves humor and tragedy with his own personal knowledge of the man who was perhaps most responsible for the modern perception of the Northern Peaks. AMC Hutmaster, pioneer SAR organizer, co-founder of the Mount Washington Observatory, organizer of the legendary Inferno races from the summit of Washington to Pinkham Notch, it's all told in this wonderful book.