This book provides an interesting look at many varied aspects of a long distance hike. Insight is based upon a survey of long distance hikers on the AT and covers many subjects from equipment, clothing, personalities, women's issues, food, distance travelled, thoughts of the hikers themselves and more. Anyone interested in long distance hiking would enjoy this book!

This is a I've done it (+) survey of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Roland Mueser covers questions on what is the best equipment and how much of it carry (keep it light) to what percentage of the hikers wear (ugh) underware. If you've ever dreamed about hiking the AT, this is a book you will love.

Roland Muesser takes us along on a trip that quantifies aspects of the trail important to trail hikers and interesting to those who are new to the sport of hiking. Indeed, this book may be of even greater value to the novice hiker than the seasoned trailblazer in that it addresses critical issues for hikers such as gear and trail etiquette questions. Roland Muesser shows his respect for the trail and hiking in general and writes an inciteful and real account of what to expect and what the trail hiker comes to expect from day to day life with nothing but what you carry on your back. From mosquito protection to an amusing deerfly experiment to more serious matters of equipment and safety this book is a great one and should not be overlooked.

Noah Adams follows the New River from its headwaters in North Carolina to its end in West Virginia. This is not a textbook of the river's history, geography or geological formation. Instead, it is a conversational documentary. The pace of the river seems to set the pace of the book. Some chapters sit still for a minute and gaze in detail at a plant or a fish. Some chapters offer glimpses of the residents and communities along the New River. Some chapters fly by with the the excitment and adrenalin rush of the whitewater rapids. Some chapters ponder the past, some ponder the future. It's a trip worth taking through Noah Adam's eyes, thoughts, and words.

I used to live near the New and Noah Adams describes it wonderfully. While on a quest to learn more about his family from the area, he also spends most of his Spring, Summer, and Fall in and around the New River. He bikes, hikes, canoes, and whitewater rafts in and around the New while telling about the history of all 350 miles of it. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific location on the river and he even gives the Latitude/ Longitude so you can visit the places he was. I highly reccomend this book!!

In traveling the New River from North Carolina to West Virginia, Noah Adams found a part of America that sometimes stands still in time, and other times seems to go backward. Part of his journey relates to an earlier epic of his own life spent in Appalachia. Whatever the reasons, he paints a picture of the river's path that is both nostalgic and distant.

Coal mining was a big industry in much of this section of the country, but much of it is gone now. Towns, mines, have almost completely disappeared, while others are ugly blots on the landscape. And still, the New River cuts its way through mountains, creating gorges, south to north, in the same way it has done for millennia. Bridges cross it. People live beside it. And a new industry -- whitewater rafting, kayaking, and other touristy pursuits -- has encroached on its waters.

As Adams traveled the river, he met professional guides, herbalists, and others who make their livings on the river. Many, perhaps most of them love the river. Each knows some of its history, and their stories often only whet our appetites.

Readers of travels in America would enjoy this book. However, someone who once lived in North Carolina, Virginia, or West Virginia, having some knowledge of both history and geography of those areas, will be reminded of their time there and stories they may have heard. It might even make some of those who moved away want to go back. Even if only for a vist.

I truly adore this book and its sequel, The Cold Cold Hand. It is truly a wonderful source of stormy day, late night, or campfire chills. Growing up in a county where quite a few of these stories occur, I have grown up knowing many of the ones in this area by heart and now am delighted that a few have been recorded with all of the atmosphere owed to them. Why do I only give this book four stars out of five them? The stories, being well written and very entertaining, still have a few discrepancies. The stories have been either been altered for better reading or the authors have been mis-informed on some of the stories...I'm not sure which. I know because the guy in the "Ghost Wagon" story just died six years ago (this disproves part of that story in the book). These changes do not hurt the book, however, and sometimes add to the dramatic effect of it (which in itself is very dramatic on a dark night under your bedsheets). So if you want to immerse yourself in creepy, North Georgia folklore, this is definately the book to get you started.

This is a good book to read. It's just like watching the documeneries on TLC about ghosts and haunts. Buy it. It will be worth it.

This has to be ( other then the cold,cold hand ) the BEST book in my collection! I cant highly recomend it enough! Get it trust me YOU wont be able to put it down you will be HOOKED!!!!!!!!!!

I was a little disappointed in the format of this book. Basically, the author strings together comments and observations pulled from interviews and trail registers throughout the 1996 hiking season. Some comments were certainly interesting and entertaining, but they didn't blend together very well. The epilogue, written a few years later based on interviews of some of the 1996 thru-hikers, was a little better.

This was the book I read in late march of 2000 (well, 1st edition) - right before starting the trail. It was the first that made me realize how much I was going to HURT, and that it would still be fun. I thought she did a good job of capturing the spirit and the community that forms among the thruhikers. --sugardaddy topher AT01

Lynn's account of the AT class of 1996 was delightfully conversational, and the clarity of her writing gave me a unique perspective of the hikers' progress in a chronological interpretation of life on the 'Trail.' Her month by month account of several hikers told the stories of not only the hikers who finished, but some of those who fell off along the way. It is necessary read for anyone contemplating the Appalachian Trail. This is a story of glory and a humility as told to the author through correspondence and Lynn's first hand interviews of hikers as she followed their progress North. -= Ed Daniels =- Pensacola, FL

For anyone who has read her novels, this is Sharyn McCrumb at her best. For anyone who hasn't, it's a fine introduction to her work. Highly recommended.

FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN is a short story collection of some of the best works by Sharyn McCrumb. Most of the collection has been published elsewhere, but never in one book. The stories vary as they include suspense, relationship dramas, and deep characterizations that portray the people and land of the Southern Appalachian chain.

All the stories are quite good, especially the who-done-its. The relationship tales are also quite excellent. Tales like the honeymoon couple returning to his mountain roots ("Telling the Bees") or the marriage between a wannabe and a death row inmate ("Not All Brides Are Beautiful") are entirely different stories that share two things in common (along with some of the other stories): They are both extremely interesting and fun to read. This is a very diverse short story anthology from one of the best regional novelists today and is well worth reading.

Harriet Klausner

I know that my heading isn't exactly distinctive, but "excellent" is really the best word to describe this collection of short stories. As a dedicated reader of the Eliz McPherson series, I loved the story about her early days. I also thought "The Monster of Glamis" was intriguing, although a bit fanciful. Anyone who has read her novel Paying the Piper will recognize elements of Cameron and Elizabeth's relationship in the story about the relationship between the American and the Scot. McCrumb's stories about Appalachia are also moving and sincere.Definitely a wonderful book from a great author whose works I will continue to await anxiously.

I bought this thinking it was about hiking the Appalachain Trail as I'm always hunting for hiking ideas and/or inspiration. Mary Twitty has a very folksy writing style, but what bothered me more was that at the end of each chapter I said to myself "who cares". I found little in the way of new hiking ideas, hiking guidance or hiking inspiration in any of the chapters. For inspiration on the Appalachain Trail, I much prefered the books by Ross, Berger or Setzer. As far as a diary of the hike, I find many of the internet on-line thru-hiker diaries better.

Most books about hiking the entire AT are by thru-hikers (hike it all in one season). This one is different because the author took 11 years to complete the trail. Because section hiker accounts are unusual I rated it 4 rather than 3 (average) which is where I would have rated it if it were a thruhiker journal. "Den Mama" gives a fairly detailed account of the places she hiked through but there are some inaccuracies regarding details of places and events (such as her statement that John Brown was a negro. He was actually a white abolishionist). She is rather cryptic when it comes to most of the people except her husband who, she frequently reminds the reader, has a wooden leg. Overall an interesting account in a day by day format for the AT hiking journal junkie.

I liked "The Dream Trail" because there is no attempt on the part of the author to sell a particular style of equipment, method of hiking or political agenda. It is simply a journal of one womans effort to complete the trail and the adventures she encounters along the way. Although not a professional author, Den Mamma has moments of insight that contribute greatly to the overall appeal of the book. Her book has inspired my wife (a retired school teacher) and I to take up the sport of backpacking when we should be thinking about rocking chairs. If she could do it at her age (63) we can too.

I read several of the individual newspaper articles originally written by these journalists and was hooked on the story. When I bought the book I was not disappointed. The photography is marvelous and I love the anthology of the different writers. Each journalist and photographer brought their own perspective and "eye" to the project. I definitely recommend this one, but not necessarily as a preparation to hike the AT. It does a better job convincing you that you want to make the hike.

I especially found the full page picture (near the beginning of the book) of the three little Chandler girls catching frogs to be very inspirational. If little ones like that can be out there hiking the trail, I sure can get out there and do some! Very nice "coffee table" type book to own.

I guess having my picture in this book makes me biased. Regardless of the authors' backgrounds, this book captures many of the truly unique stories on the AT and covers topics normally not found in other thru-hiking books. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book.

Matt Logan, a famous movie actor, has just been released from the hospital after surgery to reconstruct his face after a drunk-driving accident. His 7-year-old daughter was sitting alongside him. He is about to begin a year of community service and rehab, and he wants to see his daughter, who was unhurt in the crash, even though his estranged wife has attained a restraining order against him. As he waits outside her school, his wife's lawyer comes up behind him and reminds him that he is in contempt of court. He only gets to watch her from 500 feet away.
As the novel progresses, Matt begins to put his life back together, going to AA meetings and working on a new movie in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. It is here that a whole new set of problems arises for him.
For fans of the genre, Schuyler Kaufman's first novel, Dear Mouse... will satisfy more than just the desire for a "whodunit." Besides being a murder-mystery, Ms. Kaufman's novel, written from Matt's perspective as a series of journal entries in the form of letters to his daughter, who he refers to as Mouse, is about a recovering alcoholic father trying to reconstruct his life and reunite with his daughter, while both working on a movie and being suspected for the murder of a young wannabe starlet who once tried to seduce him.
Ms. Kaufman provides an unsentimental view of a recovering alcoholic while weaving a subtle mystery into an interlocking tale of love, lies, and redemption. In developing her characters, she allows them to be seen as real people with vulnerabilities and fears, who don't always speak in polished sentences or behave in the most elegant manner. For this she is to be praised, and for the sarcastic wit that sometimes shines through in her prose.
For example, there is a scene in which the seductive starlet tries to blackmail Matt and the movie's director into giving her a role by threatening them with accusations of rape. The director calmly points toward a video camera in the corner of the room with the red light blinking that recorded the whole affair. After she storms off, embarrassed and angry, Matt worries that she will sell her story to the tabloids, but the director says to him, "She won't go near it. Stupid people can't stand being laughed at."
In another scene of equally sarcastic ridicule, Matt approaches a receptionist at the tabloid newspaper office to diffuse an embarrassing story about himself that has just been printed. Ms. Kaufman's receptionist ignores his request completely and begins to rattle off her favorite things about his previous movies, "with a true fan's disregard for time or convenience."
There is one other instance where Ms. Kaufman's dry humor particularly stands out. In two sentences she caricaturizes the five major American news channels and their typical tongue-in-cheek positions. As Matt hears the news from the front desk clerk at the hotel where the cast is staying, we read, "NBC says you did it, CBS says you'll get off because you're famous, ABC says you'll get nailed because you're famous. Fox says you're innocent. CNN won't say." At points like this Ms. Kaufman is at her most entertaining.
However, such scenes are sometimes interspersed with awkward phrases like "Ah, geez" and convoluted constructions with questionable word choices like "Coffee was created, " which even in context is difficult to read. These slips hinder the reader's concentration. Ms. Kaufman's attempts at making her characters seem real often fails when she uses such terms and constructions. Also, there is a sublte desire for the novel to seem deep when it really isn't.
There is a darker side to this novel, one that reveals a shadowy undertone in Ms. Kaufman's storytelling. We learn of a young girl, about the same age as Matt Logan's daughter, who, having heard about his separation from his own daughter, writes letters to him and sort of adopts him as a surrogate father. Her own father molests her, and she uses her letters to Matt as a mental escape. Matt comes to look on her letters as an inlet into his own daughter's life, which he is not allowed to be a part of. His sympathy and sense of helplessness to rescue her is as genuine and wrenching as if she were his own.
In all, Ms. Kaufman has written a subtly dark mystery with a disturbing yet hopeful surprise ending. The local flavor she supplies with her references to known landmarks and her use of colloquialisms makes this book a fairly enjoyable and quick read for mystery enthusiasts.

Had the tag trailing the title for this mystery novel indicated moviemaking in glitzy Hollywood rather than in the Carolina mountains, I would have had no interest. But the contributions of an Appalachian environment on actors and actresses is another matter. Put another way, the industry there is not so big that it can keep out unwanted influences. And so the Bellers, a familiar family name, are everywhere; and although they could show up in many forms, in this story they appear frequently as "trash-Bellers." One of these, Crystal Beller, is the first to be murdered, and she is of immediate interest because others say of her that she can become anyone in her desire to be a starlet. Of course, such a statement is really doubly interesting, in addition to being a nice device to spread the mystery, because it suggests that those saying it may be capable of the same subterfuge. Written in the form of an epistolary novel, letters from a recovering alcoholic father/leading man to his young daughter, this novel introduces numerous characters in order to confound the deductive reader, and each succeeds in the mission if the reader lends to it his or her own contribution of subtle thinking. At the same time, the form often denies the extended description of a character here or there-you wouldn't expect Matt Logan to fully detail someone to his little girl. It also denies the more evocative descriptions of the beautiful Carolina mountains and that, perhaps, is a fault. But overall, the story runs true from beginning to end and was an enjoyable read.

Schuyler Kaufman writes in a way that makes me feel like I was a part of each scene. I felt as if I was actually there, watching and listening to everything that was happening (from being on the movie set with everyone to being alone with only his letters to his daughter for company). Many of the scenes seemed quite familiar to me. For example, in the hospital room when the three women trash one of Matt's old movies and Matt walks in on it, I laughed and laughed as this is the type of thing I love to do with my best friend.

In addition, the way she writes dialogue, I could easily hear the differences between different people's speech. For instance, when Pike, who is retired from NYPD, works with Quin, a local inspector, the clash of dialects makes their conversations that much more interesting and fun to read. Not to mention Kaufman's dry sense of humor, which worms its way even into the darkest scenes.

When I read the book, I felt as if I were in Matt's head. Kaufman gives him his own individual expressions and ways of speaking. I love the way he exaggerates. For example, in the police interrogation scene he says, "The questions went on for several millennia;" or when the director complains that Matt doesn't act enough like a star, Matt replies, "Geez. I thought you wanted an actor, not a media event."

Another thing that I really like about the book is its realism. Coming from a family that has suffered divorces, I found the way Kaufman portrayed the children to be right on target. In addition, it was refreshing to become familiar with a caring and loving father who is not a "deadbeat dad."

The events and circumstances kept the mysteries lively, and kept me guessing throughout the book. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good mystery with terrific characters. Enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book. I have long been a fan of Martha Grimes and her Richard Jury series and this is the first book of hers that I have read that does not center around that British crime solver. One of the things that I loved about it was its' humor and I have not seen another reviewer refer to that. I found myself smiling at the 12 year old's train of thought. Not all of the characters are fully developed, but that may be left to other books that are concerned with this distinctly American location by Martha Grimes. I am looking forward to dropping into Cold Flat Junction and The End of the Pier to see what Maud and Sam and others are up too.

This is the second of Martha Grimes books which depart from her usual fun English mystery format and I think it is much more successful than the first attempt. This book tells the story of a 12 year old girl living with her Mother in a run-down resort hotel who becomes obsessed with understanding why a girl her age drowned in the lake in front of their property 40 years ago. It is really a great coming of age story about a young girl who has been emotionally abandoned by her family and who needs find a place for herself and understand that sometimes one person in a family may become the family scapegoat for reasons they can't control. You will love the main character. She is spunky and intelligent and brave. This book is usually cataloged in the mystery section but is really just good fiction and shouldn't be overlooked by those people who say "I don't read mysteries".

I have to disagree with the negative reviews printed here. Hotel Paradise is exactly the kind of book I love to read. I took it on vacation and lounged in the sun with it for several days. As soon as it ended, I started it again. Martha Grimes obviously has a great respect for young people and their intuitive view of the adult world. I wasn't bothered at all at the lack of plot action or mystery resolution. The resolution is there for readers to decipher on their own. Can't wait to discuss this book with my Mother Daughter book group.

My son and I hiked the AT in 2000, from Maine to Georgia, and carried this book with us every step of the way. (Well, to be more accurate, we did something I have never done to a book before: cut the binding and divided it into sections, and mailed the pieces of it to ourselves at a few maildrops along the way, in order the cut down on the weight in our packs.) The author, Wingfoot, captures in this book not only the essential data that a thru-hiker needs, but also the spirit of the Trail and the hiking community. Before choosing this book, we considered several guides. We compared notes with other hikers to see what books they were relying on. We concluded that this book and a set of maps were the tools we needed. Wingfoot deserves a lot of credit for the thoroughness and accuracy of his work, and his dedication in updating the book year after year. He is also a good writer, which makes reading the book enjoyable.

I am thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail right now and I am using wingfoot's handbook as my guide. I disagree with the review I just read that said the handbook is not updated thoroughly. I have found the information to be highly accurate (i'm in a town now that was listed in the handbook, using a computer that it said was available). The reviewer is probably using an old edition. It is important to get the latest edition for thru-hiking. I started with the "other book" but soon found that it has too much information that has nothing to do with my needs as a thru-hiker. The handbook has just what I need and no more. It is easy to use and written to help thru-hikers, not to try to tell tourist every detail about things that have nothing to do with hiking. There is a lot of politics by some of the tourist types on the trail trying to discredit wingfoot's book, because he works hard for protection of the trail and upholding thru-hiking traditions and that makes them uncomfortable, but he stands for something important and I admire that and support him. I would choose the handbook even if I didn't like the traditional values Wingfoot teaches because it is so in step with the way I am thru-hiking, but now I recommend it even more since I am doing a thru-hike and can see how important those values are to what I am doing. The handbook is 100% thru-hiker, and it is the only book available that I can say that about. I recommend it to any future thru-hiker.

I have been interviewing thru-hikers who were successful on their thru-hike, that is interviewing the ones who made it from all the way from Georgia to Maine, and I have noticed that most are carrying Wingfoot's Handbook when they finish. They swear by it, saying that it had all of the necessary information but did not have so much detail that they felt like they were being led by the nose, as most other thru-hiker guides try to do.

The Handbook is laid out with mileage figures for all major features along the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and has precise information about where to find off trail services needed by someone hiking week after week. It shows the best towns to use for resupplying, and there are maps of the most important trail towns.

This book covers all the basics, with information about lodging both on the trail and in nearby towns, water sources along the trail with the directions to them (this is really important, since all other thru-hiker guides don't tell you where to find water, but this one does), places to resupply, places to get fuel for a backpacking stove, in other words everything a hiker needs to know for doing a successful thru-hike.

I especially like the notes about animals, wildflowers, and history. Wingfoot gives just enough to make it interesting, but not so much as to make the book huge. It is less than half a pound in weight (that's really important to thru-hikers), and can be split into sections easily. Wingfoot has thought of everything it seems because he is a thru-hikers with multiple trips and has helped thousands of people plan for a thru-hike. He knows his stuff better than anyone alive today, imo.

The Handbook is updated every year and it is important to get the latest copy. I heard some folks griping because they thought Wingfoot had something wrong, but every time I looked they were using an old Handbook from several years ago. Wingfoot updates the information each year so that people can have the latest info on their thru-hikes.

By the way, I met Wingfoot (the Handbook's author) on the trail last week as I was doing a practice hike in north Georgia. He is a really friendly person and after talking with him for a few minutes I was ready to head for Springer Mountain and begin my thru-hike right then! From what I have heard all along the A.T. no one has done more to help thru-hikers have a great hike and to help protect the Appalachian Trail from development than Wingfoot.

The Thru-hiker's Handbook is coordinated with Wingfoot's website which is another plus for users of this book. New info is being shared all the time that helps users of the Handbook keep their data current.

I give this book my highest rating, based on what I have heard from dozens of thru-hikers and what I have experienced suing it on the trail for my own A.T. hikes.