I first found this book at my local library, and checked it out for the maximum renewal times just to absorb all the great details of the Cumberland Plateau. Now after buying my own copy I am wearing it out! The depth that Russ goes into and the wonderful insights into not only history, but hiking, camping, canoeing, and other outdoor activites make this book a must for any outdoor adventurer. The information he provided in this revised/updated version was very helpful in planning one of many vacations I will take in the Cumberland Plateau area in the future! Highly recommended!

Line up all of you Will Wimbles. Hughes wants save you from the new "hell" of late Victorian England. He wants to give you the chance to finally work with your hands without being stigmatized as a common labourer. He'll tell you out of one side of his mouth that you'll have to work hard, but out of the other side of his mouth, he'll tell you that Tennessee living is easy. Don't think that he's trying to pull a fast one on you, though. These are his true impressions. You can trust few literary character as much as you can Thomas Hughes. That's probably why no one reads him....

This review is written by a resident-expert on Rugby, Tennessee. My family has been connected to that town since 1939. I have read the book in question, and without a doubt it is a necessary book for anyone wanting to know Hughes's true intent for the establishment of Rugby in 1880. Its purpose was to inspire young men from England to come to what was then a rather remote region of East Tennessee, to work the land and make good for themselves. I would not recommend it for the casual visitor or tourist who comes to Rugby (several thousand per year)but only for those who have a strong attachment to the Rugby community, or to those who may be studying Thomas Hughes's life. He was an extraordinary character. He was a member of Parliament, Queen's Counsel, lawyer, judge, promoter of a movement known as Christian Socialism in the mid 1800s. This book would be of great value to someone doing detailed research on Hughes and his life. End.

Before getting to details about the book, let me first say that this book does not describe 50 rugged mountain hikes as the title "Tennessee Mountains" would suggest. Rather, it describes 50 hikes of various difficulty in eastern Tennessee (i.e. points south and east of Cookeville). This region includes Big South Fork, Fall Creek Falls, Great Smoky Mountains, and Cherokee National Forest.

Hikes range in distance from 0.5 mile to 11.2 miles, with the average being around 6. Each hike contains excellent directions to the trailhead, always starting from an easy-to-find town. Each hike has a trail map, usually taken from a USGS topographic map. The maps are therefore excellent. As in most of the newer 50 hikes books, there is a summary table in the front of the book that allows you to find a particular hike of interest easily. The author's writing style is pleasant and friendly but well-informed. She brings a lot of practical, "first-hand" knowledge to the table with her writing.

All of the ingredients for a great trail guide are present, but I have to say that rather often I felt underwhelmed after reading about a hike. What I mean is, based on the trail description, I did not feel excited about hiking the trail myself (although I am an avid hiker who has personally hiked a few of them). This result may be due to poor trail selection (there are hundreds of trails in eastern Tennessee, and Doris had to choose just 50) or a poor job of "selling" the hike. Great trail guides create interest in hiking by either describing great trails or making the reader think they are describing great trails, but this guide does not do either one on a consistent basis.

In summary, I would recommend this work to people who want information on trails in eastern Tennessee. This book makes for an excellent source of information, but disappoints as a source of reading for the reason mentioned above. Therefore, this is a very good guide that just misses being great.