This is a fine overview of the three major hiking trails that criss-cross the United States. The major focus of the book is on the renowned Appalachian trail, with most of the text devoted to the AT. The Pacific Crest Trail has some useful information, though the chapters on this trail are shorter and less detailed. The Continental Divide Trail is given more sparse coverage, because the trail is not yet completed and is not attempted by very many hikers, except the very bravest souls.

This book is recommended for people who are not in the immediate stages of planning a thru hike. If you're planning on tackling any of these trails, specific books on each individual trail is the way to go. There is too much general information here for those seriously considering a hike in the near future. This book is fine as an overview and to give you a sample feel of each hike, but is less successful for one planning a hike in the coming year.

The writing is excellent and the book is riveting in sections. For all those obsessed with hiking any of the grand thru trails in America, this is an excellent and recommended resource.

Excellent book for anyone planning a long distance hike or for anyone who dreams of adventure. Provides great background information of all three trails. A must read.

For those of us out there who dream of tackling one (or all!) of the triple crown trails, this book is an awesome resource. Karen Berger is realistic and frank yet encouraging in her advice to long-distance hikers.

Berger's love of these magnificent trails is what makes this book--klike her other books, especially "Where the Waters Divide"-- shine; she obviously has a profound respect for these national treasures and realizes the importance of making others aware of them as well. It's easy to read, has some great photos, and offers shorter hikes to those less inclined to set off on a 6-month thru-hike. The book is useful as both a general hiking reference tool as well as in the planning stages, especially for the At and the PCT; it is also useful for those who wish to do shorter hikes on any of the triple crowns.

Hawk Spencer and Elizabeth MacNeal are now married and enjoying married life again. After only a week of being married Hawk and Sequatchie accompany Paul Anderson and Rhonda Harper to Williamsburg so they can be married.

Meanwhile, in Williamsburg Jacob Spencer, Hawk's son, celebrates his sixteenth birthday. Jacob also falls for Annabelle Denton. A few days after his birthday Hawk arrives and asks Jacob to go back to Watauga with him. Jacob can't believe his father even asked after he had abandoned him and left him with his grandparents for sixteen years and now finally wants to be apart of his life. Hawk tries to explain that he had to leave because he was mad at God for taking Jacob's mother, he also explains that now he is finally right with God. Jacob refuses at first until he is betrayed, then Sequatchie proposes a pact and Jacob agrees. Jacob's part of the pact is to go to Watauga for a reasonable amount of time and Sequatchie's part is to take him home after the time period.

It starts out rocky but things turn for the better when Jacob falls in love with Abigail Stevens, the bad part is Andrew MacNeal, his step brother, is also in love with her. The competition goes on for a while and Abigail enjoys the attention of the two young men but she knows she has to choose. Will Abigail's decision separate the family further?

All the while, Hawk becomes sheriff of Watauga and struggles to keep the frontier from having a full-scale war with the Cherokee.

This is a great sequel to the first book. I loved the continuing story of Elizabeth and Hawk. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you've read the first book and liked it I strongly suggest this one.

Beyond the Quiet Hills is an exelent book and I hope Gilbert Morris writes many more. I love his Writing

An excellent continuation of the Spirit of Appalachia series. It continues on with Hawk and Elizabeth's life after Hawk goes back to his family in the East to retrieve his son, whom he hopes will forgive him of his mistake of leaving him with his grandparents after his wife dies. It's a super book and I encourage all to read it!

I love cook books. I am a reader and veritable connoisseur of cookbooks. But, to be honest, if one is to really cook out of a cookbook, would author(s) henceforth please chose to have their works spiral-bound; maybe even with coated pages? This removes their book off the 'coffee table' (HardBack editions??) and brings it into the kitchen, where a cookbook belongs. Thank you for listening. Now I have to get back to my PawPaw Pie.

I purchased this book from in a Memphis bookstore last year and was thrilled with it. It has all the traditional recipes - some of which I had long since forgotten - from my childhood in the Tennessee hills. All the recipes which I have tried so far have resulted in dishes that were like a taste of the past. I highly recommend this book to any displaced Southern mountaineer longing for a taste of home. You won't regret it!

If you can't remember how Grandma made that cornbread or what to do with ramps, Sohn's book is made to order. He not only includes clear, easy-to-follow directions for preparing each of his recipes, he also adds background information on ingredients and techiques, offers strategies to reduce calorie content, and includes a list of suppliers for regional items. Includes glossary, bibliography and index.

I am familiar with the area known as Cliffside; and in Ron Rash's book, I found it easy to relate to the instances and the people that are described. The stories are humorous, and the book is a good one to pick up after a long day at the mill.

This is a book I give as a gift over and over because it is so well written and very entertaining as well. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about characters who are so real, they jump off the page.

I am a part-time media specialist at Pendleton Library and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have three small children and they were always asking me"what does it say, mama"?

Once I began reading, I couldn't put the book down. The author transports you to Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountains back in the 1930's. I loved how descriptive the writing was. I plan to get a copy of the book for many of my friends.

I went to school in Wyoming, New York (1968-1981) where Rhoda Warren lived as an adult and I knew her name, but I had no idea of her abilities or her personal story. I am so proud of her. She really has a talent for writing.

These memories of growing up the 1930's in a Letcher County Kentucky coal mining community are inspiring, especially as they show how rich the author's family was in love and support while living in poverty. The author's respect for the beauty of the area and its people is evident, and she brings members of the community to life, including the plow man, the mid-wife, and the country preacher. To survive, the family eventually moved to the small New York town where an aunt lived, and where the author met and married a local businessman just before her eighteenth birthday. Her vivid description of her first visit back "home" as a sophisticated married woman is bittersweet and hilarious, and that scene alone is worth the price of the book.

This is a book that I couldn't put down, but hated the thought of coming to the end of it . It is about a close society of people; a people that in spite of the adversity that they faced in depression era Appalachia, were able to conquer the demons of the company owned mining towns and live lives filled with dignity and compassion. The sensitivity of the descriptive prose brought me into the lives of these noble, heroic people. I found myself wanting to reread so many of the chapters, and I did. I recommend this book to people of all ages and circumstances. It is a beautiful introduction to an important and sometimes sad part of American Culture.

PARENTAL ODDNESS IS SUBJECT OF FUNNY ESSAYS - Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Nadine was orphaned and taken in by a mountain farm widow to raise. She did not marry Vincent Erwin, a chemical plant worker, until she was 30. The Great Depression was ending, but Nadine took in dire times, peddling cheap Christmas trees door to door. She often sold or traded her household furniture, and Vincent complained, "That woman has sold my bed." The Erwin family experienced many funny twists and odd episodes including watering the lawn at two o'clock in the morning. "Cures insomnia," Nadine claimed. An enjoyable story about a unique couple.

Nadine and Vinson has everything a good read requires. The emotions provoked in "Nadine and Vinson", often take the reader by surprise. One minute I was laughing out loud. The next I was afraid someone across the room might catch me with a tear in my eye. Nadine is a hysterical character. She is humorous and sly, often leaving the reader on the edge of his or her seat(wondering if she will get caught by her husband, Vinson). Suddenly, hit with the sad facts of Nadine's childhood, crying is almost inevitable. But never fear, you will be laughing with Nadine again in no time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It made me weep and it made me laugh. Ms. Call has captured her parents' lives in print for all to share and enjoy.

I agree with the Midwest Book Review's assessment of Barbara and Victor Medina's "Southern Appalachian Wildflowers." Far from being "plagued by problems," as a reader from Ohio stated, I think the layout and photos are beautifully done. A lot of guides I've seen are so crammed and busy that they're confusing to read. The fact that the Medinas' books use white space is a huge selling point, not a disadvantage at all. The photos are consistent and clear, and the text is informative. It's disheartening to think that an unknown curmudgeon can come along and make claims that might steer flower enthusiasts from an exceptional guide. If readers pick up the book and see for themselves, chances are high that it'll be welcome addition to their collection.

"Southern Appalachian Wildflowers" is not just a beautifully illustrated field guide, but one that is a joy to use! It is organized in a very intuitive and easy-to-use manner -- grouped by the colors of the flowers. The descriptive texts that accompany the wonderful photographs are really informative and clear. This is the only guide I found with information on when (blooming seasons) and where (habitats) to find wildflowers and with references (including contact information) on parks throughout the region. This was incredibly useful for planning a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Another great feature is that this is a hardy, really practical field guide to take along on those long rambles -- sporting a compact size and water resistant cover. I recommend this wonderful field guide to anyone visiting the Southern Appalachian region - novice and experienced wildflower enthusiasts alike!

The descriptions and photographs in the book have been useful to us in identifying local flowers in Maryland. Many of the same plants that grow in the Southern Appalachians grow east of the Maryland Appalachian Mountains where we live.

Dr. Waller attempts to get past the "traditional accounts", usually assembled from the newspaper and popular accounts of the time, but falls into one error which confounds the rest of her presentation: she found a great deal of information for the Hatfield family and for the West Virginia side of the river, but not as much for the Kentucky side and she generalized about the second using what she learned from the first. While the book was exceptionally well-researched, some information was overlooked or missed. Professor Waller unfortunately accepts the claim that the Tug Valley was a Confederate stronghold. However, only the West Virginia side of the river was strongly Confederate in its sympathies. The Kentucky side of the river contained a large number of Union veterans (possibly as many as a hundred or more men from this area joined the Federal army), and, in fact, in Pike County the area bordering the river was the most loyal in the entire county (post-war voting records reveal the largest percentages of Republican voters in the two precincts which were part of the Tug Valley). Waller's initial conclusions lead her to dismiss the Civil War connections of the feud. She was apparently unaware of the high degree of Unionism in the region and how it may have contributed to what could have been a continuation of the 1861-1865 warfare on the border, despite the alleged thirteen- and five-year respites. While it is well-known that Hatfield and his kin were Confederate veterans (though there is a justifiable dispute as to whether Devil Anse was actually a member of the Logan Wildcats), and it is also known that many of the McCoys had served in gray with the Hatfields, in the later phases of the feud (aptly identified by Dr. Waller) the participation of several former Union veterans or their sons in the fighting against the Hatfields indicates a significant Civil War connection. The evidence that the feuding was a carryover from the war is substantial and cannot be dismissed.

It has long been assumed that the famous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys in the 1880's was a family affair between two clans of primitive hillbillies. In Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900, Altina Waller argues that this view is nothing less than folklore, and the historical reality of the feud has been all but lost. Her work successfully explodes the myths that have surrounded the feuding Hatfields and McCoys.

In her introduction, Professor Waller discusses the previous interpretations of the feud. The first states that, "the feud and the culture from which it emerged were anachronisms in modern society" and "they represented a primitive way of life which had somehow been preserved in much the same way that prehistoric fossils are preserved." The second school of thought suggests that the feud was a result of the transformation that was occurring in the region due to the "onslaught of industrialization." Waller rejects both of these interpretations because of three aspects of the feud that she has identified as violence, family, and timing. Waller has concluded after much research that "in the 1870s and 1880s, the Tug Valley may have been boisterous and rowdy, but it was far from dangerous" and that "something unusual was happening eithin this particular community which drove a few individuals and families to resort to extreme measures." And Waller discounts the family explanation because " supportersof the Hatfields and of the Mccoys consisted of numerous individuals unrelated to those families; in fact, more than half of each group were unrelated to the feud leaders. More puzzling, there were McCoys on the Hatfield side and Hatfields on the McCoy side." Waller rejects also that the feud was caused by the Civil War. She dates the feud from 1878-1900, and identifies two phases with a five year interim. Waller offers that the feud must be examined internally and also in the light of regional and national trends.

The Tug Valley in the years following the Civil War underwent profound changes. Due to rapid growth in population and the finite agricultural resources available in the Valley, a sort of greedy desperation began to emerge in the character of some inhabitants of the Tug Valley. Also at this time outside interest in the vast resources of the Appalachias was taking the form of big money men and local agents purchasing huge tracts of land in order to exploit the mountains for their coal and timber. Gradually the mountaineer was transformed from an inependent farmer to an impoverished wage laborer. attempting to buck this trend is none other than Devil Anse Hatfield. Through hard work and some crafty legal maneuvers, Anse becomes proprieter of a sizable timber busines. And in the process incurs the wrath of Old Ranel McCoy and Perry Cline. Old Ranel through his own foolishness has not prospered, and Anse has bested Cline in a court action and removed him from his lands, which are then awarded to Anse. This is what Professor Waller has discovered to be the crux of the feud--economic power and control and its resultant societal implications. Anse has climbed the ladder while others have watched, and they are jealous.

These truths were initially lost because of the sensational handling of the feud by the newspapers of the day. Altina Waller has been successful in separating the myths from the reality. She states in conclusion that, "the feudists were struggling with the same historical forces of transformation that had been changing Americal since before the American Revolution." This is the larger picture.

Waller has a done a spectacular job of recreating this now infamous event, seperating fact from myth and rebutting many of the stereotypes that were perpetrated about the feud by the Northern press that glamorized it. As a native of Pike County, Kentucky and a distant relative of many involved in this feud, I found the text most informative. It is also accesible to anyone who is not from Appalachia or who is not versed in its history.

Alyce Faye Bragg's first collection of stories has already been reprinted and at least part of the credit goes to her love affair with the hills. These are the hills of West Virginia and from the small, very small town of Ovapa in sparsely populated Clay County. In her new book, Alyce Faye will tell you about drinking clear Appalachian mountain spring water, an addictive experience. If you have ever been exposed to farm living, you will be reached by her writing of the old vacant farm, "a sad sight." Alyce Faye says we can all go `back home' since she had already done this. She also recalls early holiday memories and her mother's Christian examples. Alyce Faye takes you there; her descriptions are powerful and enjoyable. But there are many things about rural life you may not already know: a shucking peg, about duck sitting, a pennyroyal, leather britches (not clothing), the horse that should have gone to jail and all about green apples and yellow jackets (ouch!). She writes about the real Mountaineer and a real Mountain woman. It may be humorous or sometimes sad, but it is never dull. A gracious real mountain woman herself, Alyce Faye Bragg brings real insight to her stories about country life.

I was very impress with this book it was also the best book i've read about wv.

A wonderful collection of nostalgic essays on the joys and sorrows of life in the hills. Based in a love for life and a deep faith, this second collection of Ms. Bragg's heartwarming writings will delight any reader seeking a reason to be thankful and hopeful.

I've done a portion of the trail (500 miles), so I've seen a fair amount of the trail. These are nice pictures, but they are mostly from the bottom looking up--or more appropriately, from the road looking at where the trail goes over some mountain in the distance. There are pictures of the Fontana Dam but not Rocky Top, a distant shot of Blood Mountain from the low lands, the trial leading into Unicoi Gap, a sign in Hot Springs, and Maine is represented by pictures of the sign when entering the hundred mile wilderness, the Pie Lady's sign and some pictures in Baxter.

There are multiple pictures of hikers finishing the trail, but I doubt that the photographers listed as authors took them.

The photos are good, and from them I could recognize the places I had passed. But there weren't any pictures of a crowded shelter in a rainy night, the Trail Days Hiker Parade, Max Patch or Cheoah Bald or the Baldpates or what you would characterize as the special places that you happened upon when you hiked the trial. In fact, there are few hikers, and little of the trail culture. From the book, you might guess the A.T. is a lonely place.

A great coffee table book for anyone interested in the AT. While it does not capture the "backwoods" arena of long distance hiking, this book does bring to life the camaraderie and closeness of the appalachian community.

This book shows the true features of the Appalachain Trail. The photographic tour takes you all along the trail from Georgia to Maine. All pictures are of great quality and have the proper captions. All captions are very informative. This book also has an excerpt about the history of the trail. Buy this book if you are a hiker or just want to learn more.