The book initially follows the journey of Naomi Fraser into the Appalachian mountains to serve as a missionary and children's home founder. Initially, I thought this book was going to be an unrealistic portrayal of a "saint." Instead, I found a sensitive portrayal of flawed but generally well meaning adults and children bound together in an orphanage. I read the book in a day and highly recommend it. The author, a family therapist, reveals her self-awareness as well as her understanding of the frame of reference of others.

This book is a true-life accounting of an institution that has become historical. Most of us have had no experience with an orphanage. We grow up in single family homes surrounded by a family who likely loves and cares for us. The thought of being in an orphanage may evoke vague fears. On the contrary, this book shows that life in an orphanage is much like life in a more traditional family: there are good and not-so-good "parents" and "siblings" that you care for or don't, as the case may be. Wardell provides an honest, unemotional account filled with overtones of courage and optimism. Far from being scarred by the experience, her journey through the system leaves her empowered and fully prepared for a rich and balanced life. I found this book very powerful and inspirational. My views about orphanages have changed - familial love can be found in different settings.

This hilarious Appalachian folktale was voted the Washington (State) Children's Choice Picture Book Award in 1996. I've read it aloud to 2nd graders in my school library to their delight.

Forgetful Plug goes to the store for his mother, repeating the phrase, "Soap! Soap! Don't forget the soap!" But with each encounter he forgets the phrase, picking up a new one, getting into trouble, and getting dirtier each time. By the time he remembers the soap, he is in desperate need of it when he gets home.

Click on the cover illustration to get an idea of Tom Birdseye's humorous style.

This book is a fun piece of entertainment, but I gave it 4 stars, since there are certainly more memorable folktales out there.

My 2 year old son runs around the house yelling Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap! We loved the characters in the story, and the colorful illustrations are captivating.

Just spent three days fishing in the GSMNP in eastern Tennessee, and found Mr. Jacobs book to be right on target. A lot of the information can be found from local flyshops, but his book really helped plan our trip in advance. Coupling this book with local advice is a formula for success.

"Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia" is an outstanding book for people who want to fish for trout in the Appalachian Mountain regions of Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. It gives locations, access points, fly patterns and hatches for the best trout streams in the South. It is well written and the reader can see that the author put in many hours of research in writing this book. I just wish there were more books written on this subject.

This book is very informative for women planning to spend time in the wilderness. The title specifies thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, but many of the topics covered are of interest to women who love spending time outdoors. Input from numerous sources is well blended to offer balanced, solid advice. I was surprized at the diversity of topics covered. The bibliography is comprehensive, very helpful when you want to dig deeper. If you're looking for answers to issues concerning women in the wilderness, this is the book to buy.

This is a book long awaited by women thinking about hiking, or planning to hike the Appalachian Trail. It was worth the wait. Beverly has taken the responses of experienced women long-distance hikers from surveys and questionnaires and skillfully woven them into a narrative form that gives answers to all the questions a prospective female hiker might have: how to prepare for a long-distance hike; what clothing and gear works best; safety, health, nutrition, sanitation, privacy; what about the folks back home; self-image, motivation, strength, and determination; and the benefits of doing a long-distance hike, facing challenges, and reaching your goals. The bibliography of 143 items was compiled by a research librarian and Appalachian Trail backpacker and includes A.T. guidebooks, planning guides, books on backpacking and outdoor skills, and a special list of "Women Outdoors" books that includes highly motivating stories of women who set out to do daring things and achieved their goals. This book is the result of a collaborative effort, with real answers from hundreds of real women, including Beverly herself. The other current book for women backpackers (Adrienne Hall's "Backpacking"--a Ragged Mountain Press Woman's Guide) plus "Women & Thru-Hiking on the Appalachian Trail" are a perfect combination for a woman contemplating a long-distance backpacking trek. I have read and enjoyed both of these excellent books.

Wish You Well is a different style of novel from writer David Baldacci. I have read many of his thrillers and was wary of reading his new attempt at nostalgic fiction. But I ended up really enjoying the story. The story is centered around the lives of Lou, a twelve year old city girl, and her younger brother Oz, who are suddenly thrust into country life without either of their parents. The story is suitable for readers of all ages. The natural flow and rythm of the voice makes it easy to read and understand. The voice of this novel was undeniably nostalgiac. It provided an underlying innocence to the lives of Lou and Oz and the people they meet in the country. Baldacci's voice in this novel is different from what we are used to reading from him. This shows his range and ability as a writer. All of his novels are well written, but this one has a sentimenatlity that is interspersed with deep emotion and vivid detail.
Overall, though this story may not be as suspensful as Baldacci's other novels I thought it was still a very entertaining read.

The one thing that kept running through my mind over and over as this book unfolded was this: Are you sure this book was written by David Baldacci? I mean, this is the same author who wrote such highly charged political thrillers as ABSOLUTE POWER and THE SIMPLE TRUTH, and thrilling suspense novels like THE WINNER. To say the least, this book is almost a complete 180 degree turn away from that genre. Taking place mostly in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, the book follows the lives of two young children, the precocious, hard-headed, 12 year old Lou (Louisa) and her younger, much more timid brother Oz (Oscar). After a tragic car accident kills their father and leaves their mother almost comatose, they go to live with their Great-Grandmother, Louisa Mae, on her mountain farm in Appalachia. While the book generally follows the lives of the two children as they struggle to adjust to the primitive conditions and hard work of life on a farm, the character of Louisa Mae remains the center of the story. Close to 90 years of age, she works to take care of the two young children suddenly thrust into her life while at the same time working non-stop on the mountain farm that has been her home for her entire life. We also meet a host of other characters, from the black farmhand who works constantly on the farm and is a lot smarter than anyone gives him credit for, to the irrepressible "Diamond", an orphaned boy without a care in the world who becomes best friend to Lou and Oz, to the small-town lawyer with a poet's soul who works hard to defend Louisa Mae's farm from the Mining Corporation that wants to take over and destroy it, and who also acts as a father figure to Lou and Oz. Of course some of the usual Baldacci elements are there: Suspense, tragedy, humor, and the struggle of the weak against the powerful, which climaxes in a dramatic courtroom scene. But those elements are secondary to the rich character development that takes place throughout the book. The book's only possible flaw is the somewhat predictable ending. The book is also followed by an Afterword by the author, in which he laments the continued downward spiral of our society in general, and the disintegration of the family in particular. In these days of increased violence in our homes and schools, this seems particularly poignant. All in all, this book was thoroughly enjoyable, and I highly recommend it. NOTE: I listened to the unabridged Book-on-Tape version, read by Norma Lana. Normally, listening to a book on tape is not as good as reading it for yourself, but in this case, with Ms. Lana's sweet southern lilt (I don't know if it's real or not) and mastery of dialects, I think the book comes to life in a way it never could. If you can find the Book on tape version, I think you will find it very enjoyable.

In 1940s New York City, twelve-year-old Louisa Mae "Lou" Cardinal hero-worships her father, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Lou's dream is to become as highly regarded as he is, but she is unaware of how little money her dad Jack earns. Considered by critics one of the best authors of his generation, Jack is considering Hollywood in order to feed his family of four.

Lou's idyllic world crashes when her beloved father dies in a car accident. With her mother in shock, Lou and her younger brother Oz are displaced and move to their great-grandmother's remote Virginia farm. The two siblings begin to heal, but a new fight to save their new home is on the horizon.

WISH YOU WELL is a powerful character-driven historical novel that provides the audience a look at the bone marrow of emotions of the key players during tragedy. Readers will take to heart Lou, Oz, their mom, and their great-grandmother. The support cast augments the tale with even deeper glimpses of the Cardinals. Although David Baldacci overdoes the melodrama and reverts to a well-written courtroom climax, WISH YOU WELL is a great look at daily survival during a period of intense grief and displacement.

Harriet Klausner

The novel the Hangman's Beautyful Daughter is a great book by Sharyn McCrumb. The Book is about the life of Laura Bruce and her visits to the families of the eastern Tennessee mountains. While her husband is away as a minister for the army in the Gulf War, Laura counsels people of the town durring times of need. Many tragic things happen to the families and characters in this book, but they only bring you closer to them. My favorite characters are the Underhill children for thier strength and courage and Nora Bonesteel for her wisdom and kindness. I think this is a really good book and would recommend it because of the closeness you feel to the characters.

I read this book on the advice of a friend, and I am glad I did! I had never heardof Sharyn McCrumb prior to reading this book, and what an introduction. She quickly became my favorite author and I devoured her other books.

But this book, was an excellent introduction, and is far and away the best book she has produced to date.

She carefully and beautiful weaves together half a dozen threads and the result is a gripping, emotional, and beautiful novel.

The characters are vivid and endearing neither angelic nor demonic, but like the whole of humanity are a combinations of the two.

How I envy you reading this book book for the first time.

I read this for a mystery book discussion group, and we all liked it very much. McCrumb does an excellent job of putting you in the Appalachians and of detailing the various characters in this novel. Even with the powers which the oldwoman Nora Bonesteel possesses, this story comes off as believable. As I said the characters come off as real in both their flaws and attributes. This story has multiple plots occurring at the same time and does change frequently from one scene to another, but this does not take to story, but rather adds to your interest in each circumstance. Be aware that this is a novel, and not strictly a mystery. The mystery does not take center stage but its solution is well worth the trip thru Appalachia. The most rewarding thing is looking back at the end of the book and seeing things that pointed to the end. I felt much the way I did after I had seen the "Sixth Sense". Don't pass on this book.

Elizabeth Gilbert starts out her book The Last American Man with a bang, summing up the adventurous accomplishments of Eustace Conway. At seven, he could hunt down chipmunks by accurately flinging a knife. At twelve, he went into the woods and survived on his own for a week. At 18 he conquered the mighty Mississippi in a canoe and the following year it was the Appalachian Trail. Conway is the subject of Gilbert's telling of the "last American man;" rather, the last person in this country to live off the land with Davy Crockett-styled energy.
The first few chapters certainly set the stage for an exciting and interesting story, yet in the end the reader is left angry at Conway as he is anything but American.

The book begins by outlining Conway's goal in life, which is quite different than the typical 21st century Internet-savvy American. Simply, he wants to "snap his countrymen out of their sleepwalk." Conway wants to do this by reintroducing Americans to the concept of revelatory communion with the frontier. This communion comes in the form of visits to local high schools, and particularly in people coming to stay with Conway on his land in North Carolina. Unfortunately Conway is not too successful in accomplishing his goal, as he drives away most that are initially interested in the frontier plans.

Before describing the actual apprenticeship program, Gilbert sets up the credibility of Conway as the 21st century Davy Crockett. These moments are the most interesting in the book -- descriptions of Conway in college at Appalachian State are humorous, and the adventures that he finds later in life are amazing. In particular, Conway's horseback voyage across America is quite interesting.

In the end though, the book shines a light on the fact that Eustace Conway is about as un-American as they come. He does not embody the ideals that many of the great American leaders held. Conway is a selfish and egotistical man that is more interested in his own welfare than the original goal he set out to accomplish. Even Gilbert, who is a close friend of Conway's, admits to his vanity and says that he should loosen up. Conway admits that his frontier image is an act and that he would prefer to live a simple life alone in the woods. Instead, he has commercialized and glamourized his life accomplishments, becoming what he strived to fight in the first place. Conway is a confused man with serious emotional problems (which are explored in detail throughout the chapters about his childhood).

The adventures of Conway are interesting, but the book is absent of any real lesson or insight. If it is Davy Crockett adventure that you seek, rent the movie or get the biography. I do not recommend this book to those looking for portrayal of the last American man, as its merits cannot stand ground based solely on the interesting storyline.

Eustace Conway is a "one-of-a-kind" man, and this book is a truly fascinating read. More than that, the book's written in a unique way. The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, is a character in this story as well. Although Eustace is in the spotlight, we're very aware of the person casting that light, and she does so with a gift for timing, phrasing, observation and humor. She is not an invisible biographer. Her thoughts and opinions are woven throughout. I'm not used to this style, but I came to love it. Elizabeth is the perfect guide on the "Getting to know Eustace" journey. Sit back and enjoy! And when you're done, follow Eustace's advice, and Get Out and Do!

Some years ago I read a magazine article about Eustace Conway and found his story captivating. Thus I was eager to read this book when I learned of its publication. I won't summarize his life - the Reviews above do so sufficiently to capture almost anyone's interest - but let me urge others who post reviews to remember you are reviewing the book, not Eustace Conway. I'd give him 5 stars - or 10 - for many qualties, but surely not for his troubled personal relationships. But Elizabeth Gilbert has done a wonderful - definitely 5 star - job in telling his story. She knows him very well (and clearly likes him), has talked at length with a great many of his friends and with his parents and siblings, and she loves the lifestyle ideal he seeks to propagate. She also writes in a wonderfully engaging, personal style. I can't imagine anyone who reads the first couple of pages not being totally hooked.

An eighteen year old girl from the Tennessee hills, Frankie Silver was hung in 1832 for the killing of her husband, whose total body parts were never found. In the 1970's, in that same part of the country, Fate Harkryder is convicted of the heinous murders of a young couple. Two decades later, he is to be electrocuted for his crime.

Twenty years ago, Spencer Arrowood, a young gung-ho law enforcement official, was positive that he arrested the right person for the murders. His then boss, Sheriff Nelson Miller, takes him to the Silver grave and confesses that there are two cases that he has had some doubts about: Silver and Harkryder. After recently being shot, Spencer wonders if he looked at the Harkryder investigation through myopic lens. He begins to investigate both the Silver and Harkryder cases to insure that an innocent man is not being sent to death.

Appalachia is impervious to human time as it virtually ignores the mortal presence in its backyard. The timelessness of the region and the seemingly repetition of human events a century apart add up to a melancholy, haunting, but beautifully lyrical masterpiece from Sharyn McCrumb. THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER can be read on two levels. It is a brilliant mystery (actually two) and it is a fabulous philosophical work of art. The book is so well written, readers will subconsiously find themselves reconsidering how to look at the flow of time. Instead of just short term and linear as our existence seems to be, Ms. McCrumb eloquently argues, in her ingeniously blended pair of who-done-its, that time is vast and non-linear. This novel will pass the test of time and will be considered a classic in years to come.

Harriet Klausner

Once again, Sharyn McCrumb has outdone herself! With each book in "the Ballad Series," she pushes the boundaries of our knowledge and fine-tunes her wonderful skills in plot-development. _The Ballad of Frankie Silver_ has proven no exception! For those unfamiliar with this series (shame on you!), it will not matter. One of the many beauties of her work is that one need not necessarily have read the previous installments to completely comprehend the new one. I find it fascinating (as I always do), to lose myself between here-and-now and the bygone eras to which Ms. McCrumb leads her readers in each novel. The eerie part is coming to the realization that, for all the advances "we" have made, not much has changed at all. And neither have "we." The two concurrent mysteries of _Frankie Silver_ serve to remind the reader of this very fact. With pain-staking details to 19th-Century American law, we see a woman tried in what would now seem an unjust system. We feel her frustrations. And those of us who know Appalachia can probably even relate to the scrutiny she must have faced in the "civilized" world of Morganton because of her own "savage" mountain background. As for Fate Harkryder, the central character of the "current" storyline... With capital punishment as hot a topic as it is, Ms. McCrumb poses some interesting moral questions in light of what we eventually learn about his case. And the meshing-together of the two storylines is, as always, the part for which I most admire this creative writer. So many differences, yet always the same! Sharyn McCrumb is "mountain magic" personified!

I only discovered Sharyn McCrumb,s work about a year ago. What a wonder I have been missing! I love her satires, including the Elizabeth MacPherson books, but her "Ballad" series has fascinated me since I first read "If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-o". I read her explanation of how she was able to write two such different forms, and I am only too glad that she can. The her latest book, "The Ballad of Frankie Silver", is by far her best. It is a masterful blend of real history, modern mystery, and social commentary. As an old history major, I appreciate the degree to which she has accurately woven the historical component into this wonderful book. Simply, I could not put it down!

The concept is good--two out-of-shape middle-aged guys try to hike the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail--and the first fifty pages of "A Walk in the Woods" are enjoyable. Despite years of camping and hiking in the Boy Scouts in my youth, I too would be out of my league trying to prepare and equip for hiking the AT. But in the interest of full disclosure, the book should have been called "A (Short) Walk in the Woods--Rediscovering (Small Parts of) America on (39% of) the Appalachian Trail". Bryson hikes from North Georgia, but calls it quits at Gatlinburg, Tennessee--renting a car to drive from there to Roanoke, Va. Perhaps realizing that he was supposed to write a book on the AT, but had quit (oops), Bryson then drives around to various parts of the Trail, taking day hikes on weekends. He then teams back up with the indomitable Katz to hike the last hundred miles of the trail in Maine. Again--you guessed it--they quit and go home, lamely insisting that they had hiked the Appalachian Trail. I'm sure hard-core thru-hikers everywhere are simply beside themselves over this.

Interestingly, at the same time Bryson talks about how those on the AT depend on "the kindness of strangers," Bryson and his foul companion Katz are almost vicious to their fellow hikers--mocking their intelligence, rebuffing attempts at friendly conversation, "ditching" companions, even stealing shoestrings from other hikers' boots in the night--nice. And as others have noted, while preaching about environmentalism and repeatedly criticizing the Park Service, Bryson and Katz leave a trail of cigarettes, discarded equipment, and soda cans over miles of the Trail.

Bryson stereotypes Southerners (another "Deliverance" insult--yawn) and spouts knee-jerk environmentalism (acid rain! yikes!) all the while. And the brief foray into Civil War history--a brief profile of Stonewall Jackson--is a howler, filled with inaccuracies and undisguised Yankee disdain for a man who, though eccentric, was arguably one of the greatest military commanders of all time.

That said, Bryson does have an ear for witty repartee (one wonders how much was filled in later, for comic effect); I chuckled out loud a few times. The book is also a nice, quick read, good for an airplane ride or short weekend, for instance. But I couldn't help but be disappointed. I was ready to root for two underdogs to conquer a daunting physical task--instead, they gave up early and were jerks to everyone they met along the way. Granted, if I tried to hike the AT, I might not make it half as far as Bryson--but hey, I didn't sign up with my publisher to write a book about hiking the Trail, either.

Bought this book for my wife, then ended up reading it first. Added insult to injury by waking her up repeatedly with my laughter, which I just couldn't contain. Bryson is very witty, and his descriptions of striking out onto the Appalachian Trail with his companion Stephen Katz are not just colorful, they are often moving.

His descriptions of their daily diet are a scream. Snickers bars, Little Debbie pastry cakes and Slim Jim beef sticks are not the normal trail food (nor are noodles as a daily diet), but many serious hikers have secreted wrappers from these products into trash cans at the end of a hike. Bryson manages to poke fun at hikers and himself as well.

He has managed to hit the nail on the head with his descriptions of the National Park Service, yet portrayed the personnel who work for this organization as dedicated individuals. His descriptions of the underground coal fire burning which has gone on for decades under Centralia, Pennsylvania, have made me! want to plan a day trip there, along with a side trip to the Delaware Water Gap.

There are holes in this tale, but if one just overlooks the small lapses that pop up here and there, the book is quite enjoyable. Serious hikers should lighten up and read it like a funny novel. I'll try his "Lost Continent" next, as other readers have called it one of his best. If it's as good as this was, I'll be happy.

A Walk in the Woods

"Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened on a path that vanished into wood on the edge of town" is a spectacular beginning by writer Bill Bryson of his ludicrous and whimsical experience of walking the AT or Appalachian Trail. In this memoir, Bill, our hero...ahem..cough...cough, CLAP!, has decide that a stroll of the great AT, running from Maine to Georgia or vice versa, sounded like fun. His friend named Katz joins him on this comical trip in the woods. His son, who has an after school job at an outfitter's, suggested that he buy his supplies there because of their large stock of materials for a hike in the woods. This is a very engaging and interesting book, but I would not recommend this book to a kid who still thinks sex, crap, and etc. are extremely bad words, unless you are a parent who enjoys making up definitions and trying reverse psychology on your children to think they didn't read that word at all, they dreamed it. Its appropriateness is the about the same as a PG-13 movie, for those people who don't know what PG-13 stands for, it stands for Parents Cautioned Some Material May By Inappropriate For Children Under 13. I read this book for a school report and I thought it was going to be boring because it was a true story. But I was totally wrong. Whatever you may be doing right now, stop and go to your nearest book store and buy this book. That order was mandatory, do it. Thank you for reading my review. I hope it informed you enough to read the book.

Prodigal Summer is 444 pages in length.That's not to say the book isn't worth reading. There are three stories here that eventually blend themelves together. The story takes place in southern Appalachia.The first characters are a wildlife biologist and her coyote hunting/ drifter boyfriend who form a unusual alliance. The second group of characters are a widowed farmers wife and her cold in laws who are trying to figure one another out. And then there are Nannie & Garnett. Two elderly feuding neighbors who have totally opposite views on life and who constantly debate about, pesticides, god, and the world in general. The book tells a story of human nature and nature itself. There are constant themes that deal with the issues of enviromentalism and preservation.I personally loved nannie & garnett. The two feuding elderly neighbors. Especially the part in the book when Garnett has an encounter with a turtle. This isn't a book for everyone.However those who have a deep love and appreciation for the enviroment, should enjoy this book. Barbara Kingsolver has been able to take a serious issue and form it into a enjoyable read.

This book will go on my must read list. I have already given it out to numerous friends, and alerted others to its delights. Kingsolver, who is a favorite author anyway, has written a well-researched and loving tale about the lives of three people in an Appalachian community. She weaves the stories together in overlaying chapters: the "Predator" chapters follow Deanna, a park ranger in the mountains who is tracking coyotes; the "Moth Love" chapters follow Lusa, a half Jewish/half Palestinian entomologist who has married a farm boy; and the "Old Chestnuts" chapters follow Garnett, an eighty-year-old scientist/farmer who is still trying to bring back the American Chestnut tree, and is in constant conflict with his next door neighbor, Nanny Rawley (an aging feminist organic farmer).

The author manages to bring together varying points of view about the community, the ecological fabric (that touches all of them and eventually brings families, lovers and neighbors together) and about sheer personal growth and development. Her research is so complete that I found I learned a great deal more about how fragile our natural world is and how much we as human beings have to do with that fragility and its continued survival. Her characters are believable, and they struggle with their hearts in a variety of ways - all eventually reaching for what is right for them. I suppose that was what I so loved about the book. So many people make life decisions to suit others or per what others might like or think. Kingsolver's characters tackle the life questions and finally decide what is best for them, which is almost always the hardest route to take. This was a sexy, funny, tender, and all around tremendously rich and satisfying novel.

Oh to be inside the mind of Barbara Kingsolver. Her creative genius blows me away everytime! This book had a little of everything I love to read about. Deep and intricate human relationships, a great love of nature and her creatures, and how it all mixes together. . .three story lines interwoven into a thought provoking and heart warming tale. There's Nanny Rawley, an aging earth mother with a heart of gold and a sharp mind, who both aggravates and fascinates her neighbor Garrett Walker. . .a elderly straight laced gentleman...Deanna Wolfe, an off beat forest ranger who has left civilization in favor of the natural world, and manages to have a pivotal romance out in the middle of no where, and Lusa, a well educated entomologist who falls in love with a farmer and leaves her city life for Zebulon County. So, how do all these characters blend together? Seamlessly. . .one of the best books I've ever read. Uplifting, profound and highly entertaining!! Kingsolver makes these characters real.