This book is very portable (slim and easy to carry). While it includes day hikes in the first section, the second section is great if you are planning to hike (and camp) for more than one day. Not only does it include trail descriptions, mileage, it also offers advice on how many miles to do per day, etc. I did find one "error" during the Hazel Mountain day hike section (the mileage in the text doesn't match the mileage in the description) but that's not major. Overall, GREAT BOOK!

Molloy obviouly spent a lot of time at Shenandoah because all the hikes he picked were winners (at least all those I have gone on so far!). This book tells me just what I want to know: the hike, distance, difficulty, and hiking time. Even better, it gives me a running commentary about what I am going to see on the hike, so I don't miss anything. And it fits right in my pack! I really like the directions to get me to the trailhead. I can pack up and be on the trail in a jiffy. So if you are looking for just the right information (in our era of information overload) Molloy's book is for you.

I barely have time to hike, much less shift through a thick, overdone guidebook. Molloy's guide is the perfect size. It saves me time, accurately detailing specific hikes to lesser known destinations with exact directions to the trailhead and good maps. It's all I ever need to explore Shenandoah National Park.

Johnny Molloy's "Day and Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park" is a superb handbook for anyone wanting to hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In each trail description, he provides a map and rates all of the most popular hikes, including day and overnight loops, in distance, hiking time, difficulty, scenery, suitability for children, trail conditions, and solitude, as well as giving a brief summary of the outstanding features, such as waterfalls, mountains streams, rock formations, etc. He tells me everything I need to know to help me decide on a trail to hike. His book easily fits into my back pocket, so I always carry it and refer to it quite often during the hike. It's the best Smokies guidebook I've seen.

This book, particularly the useful rating system, helped us to make the most of our visit to GSMNP. Thanks to the precision of the directions we city folks didn't have to backtrack once during four days and over 30 miles of dayhiking the trails. Although I like the small size and the brevity, it would be useful if the book included elevation charts and more map detail. However, serious hikers should use a detailed topographical trail map to complement any guidebook.

I bought two hiking guidebooks for my recent trip to the Smokies. Molloy's book and Albrights' Hiking Great Smoky Mountains. I tried to use both of them, but time and time again I returned to Molloy. His guide is concise and you can quickly find what you're looking for without reading ten to twenty pages. His rating system, distance, and time charts are extremely valuable. His time estimates are a bit on the faster than average side, but you should allow extra time anytime you go hiking. Keep in mind too that most of the trails in the park involve going up and down hills as trails take you up to crests and ridges. Mainy of these trails would be hard to find on your own, with an overwhelming amount to choose from. I did trails in Tennessee including Injun Creek, Mount Cammerer, Sutton Ridge Overlook, and Walker Sisters Place. I would recommend doing a three or four hour hike before jumping to the six hour hikes. I think the only bad think about this book is after doing most of the hikes, you wish he would mention more.
As for the other reviews, Molloy spends a little time on suggesting you take rain gear, plenty of water/ water treatment tablets/filters. You don't need too much gear to just go hiking, but you should be prepared for nearly anything. I would say this book is geared to someone that has been hiking, backpacking before, but there is no reason a beginner couldn't benefit from using Molloy's guidebook. You can always ask a park ranger where to find various wildlife, but spend any amount of time on the trail, especially quietly, you're bound to run into some of the diverse wildlife found in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Simply put, this is by far the BEST poetry compilation that I've read in a very long time. 2 syllable word: Awestruck. Feelin'Blue and Black all over is a breath of fresh air....after reading this book, my respiratory system has not been the same. And if breathing means being without this book...then let me take my last breath now! The passion and energy that was placed into this book can not be explained in mere words, and to attempt to do so would slight Brett Bonner's efforts. So I will just say MMM. Because those are the ONLY words that you will be able to bellow once you put this book down. IF YOU CAN! I DARE YOU! Mr. Bonner, if you read this...A job well done! My hat goes off to you. A revolutionary after my own heart. Keep the movement moving brother! Lead us to that land brother...lead us on!

I have to preface my review by saying it was hard for me to put this book down. Not only did the author speak to my spirit, and pierce my soul he awakened in me my ancestral connection. From the horrific events of slavery to the heartache of lost love, Mr. Bonner addresses a range of emotion. He forces you to deal with your own idiosyncrasies, and challenges your thought process, as well as whom and what you assimilate with. Being a writer myself, I appreciate Mr. Bonner's work, and applaud the fortitude and courage that is required to open up to the masses, and invite them inside of your secret place......your mind's eye.

Although I don't consider myself to be a poetry reader/lover, this book is very meaningful to me. The writer has a way with imagery that takes me from love and compassion to anger and discontent. Certain pieces seem to capture that which has been repressed and has made me feel things about my being that I hadn't discovered about myself. It's a must read for anyone that has ever felt abused, loved, tired, and/or triumphant because it encompasses the best and worst in all of us. It's the best poetry book I've ever read. My personal favorite is a poem titled "Summur's Time". It seemed to read my soul inside and out! I think anyone who reads this will feel the depth of this author's sincerity, passion and pain. I emplore you to pick it up!

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I LOVED THE FIRST TO PARTS TO IT TOO! I WAS HOPING ROBIN WOULD KILL HER! HE WAS THE COOLEST CHARACTER! tHREW THE WHOLE BOOK I WAS CHANTING: KILL HER! I DIDN'T LIKE THAT GIRL. (I DON'T EVEN REMEMEBER HER NAME. THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ! I ONLY READ FEAR STREET AND LOUIS S.'S BOOKS. I HATE GOOSEBUMPS. BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT. ANY FEAR STRRET BOOK CONNECTING WITH THE FEAR FAMILY AND THIER HISTORY IS AUTOMATICLY GOOD. Oops! Anyways, this is such a good book! I'd read it again if I could find were I put it! I still wish Robin killed that one girl!

" The Last Scream" will have anyone screaming! This book is the best R.L. Stine has ever created. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!

I recomend this book to anybody that wants some serious suspense. A very surprising ending.

This book is awesome. I was up all night readin this. Linkin park die hards this is the book for u. Keep it, tresure it, do whatever u have to. I know i will.

if you want to know it, this book has it. This book tells the history of the band, even a little about Chester's old band! It's got awesome information and great pictures. Every LP fan should own this

With more than fifty pages of in-depth text,this book tells you the history of Linki Park.Many pictures I have never seen before are also in this book.Highly recommend this to all LP fans.

I would augment it with another guidebook to balance reviews and recommendations. Moon Handbooks are great for the traveler on a "middle class" budget and will guide you to the "must sees" without the extra confusing fluff that other guidebooks include.

Not really a review, but a definite This Is a Great Book. I'd never heard of Moon Handbooks, but purchased this guide through Amazon and found it helped immensely on recent trip to Canada. Everything was included and the detailed recommendations covered everything from hiking to where to eat. If you're heading to the Canadian Rockies, buying this book is money well spent.

This book was invaluable for our Spring 2001 trip through the Canadian Rockies. The book is obviously written with the aim of appealing to a wide range of travelers, and does so well. My wife and I have very different interests, but found that each evening we would sit down and study the next day's itinerary almost solely using this book--her searching out museums and a picking a spot to eat dinner and me looking for outdoor activities. As a retired historian, I was also pleased to see comprehensive coverage of the history of the region, along with dozens of interesting tidbits that helped make the trip more enjoyable. It was too early in the season for us to do much hiking, but the trails we did follow all came from this book and another, Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. I highly recommend this book to anyone traveling north through the Rockies region of our Canadian neighbors.

This book was very imformative and valuable on a recent road trip to the parks with my kids. I provided a consise resource of information and facts in an easily readable form. A valuable addition to your glove box at the start of your trip, or reading material on the flight to Jackson. Highly recommended.

There are many travel guides which will tell you where to eat, where to stay, and how much you can expect to spend. Some contain maps, important phone numbers, and local attractions. This book goes well beyond that. You will come away with a deep appreciation of the area and a better understanding of the wildlife. You will come to understand the differences between a black, brown, and grizzly bear and how to peacefully coexist with them in the park. You will learn how geysers work, what dangers exist, and how to help preserve the park for future generations.

I just returned from a visit to Yellowstone and found this book extremely helpful both in planning the trip and as a reference while there. I particularly liked the author's reviews of the accomodations within the park, which I found to be accurate, especially his reviews of the accomodations at the Old Faithful area, Canyon, and Lake Yellowstone.

The book contains excellent, accurate maps and the descriptions of touring the park contain lots of little-known sites that were worth seeing. Also, the book contains great information on hikes within the park.

I looked at several other guides to Yellowstone, this one by far outshines the other ones that I saw.

Enjoy your visit to this wonderful park!

I gave this book to my husband. He is a rangeland management major and he is in love with the book. I do not know anything about plants, but he seems to love it and find it extremely useful. Compare to the expensive "weeds of the west" this book is relatively cheap for the amount of plants it has.

As a Range Conservationist in WA State a great book for all range mgrs, range techs., however, I was surprised to see Thurber needlegrass taken out of the most recent issue.

North American Range Plants is a great book for any beginer, taxonomy student, layman, and expert alike. It is easy for the novice, because it's not in a key format, which may disappoint some more serious plant collectors. It contains 200 of the most common, and important plants found in the United States, Canada and Mexico. I have had this book for sometime now, and it has become an invaluable resource in my studies at Texas A&M University, where I have come to know one of the co-authors, Stephan Hatch. He has an unparralled knowledge of plants and a dedication like no other to put forth a good product, so i know from experience that this book was written by folks who are the top in their field of study. Being from Texas, i have worked internships in the plains of central North Dakota and the desert "outback" of eastern Oregon and have found the book to most useful, oftentimes referring to it before trying to "key out" a plant in a more technical publication. It just doesn't get any better than this.

My husband and three children just spent three weeks driving across the country to California and back. We stopped at Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and a few others. I purchased this book one year before the trip to help me plan, but it was equally helpful as a quick reference. The maps are great, the directions fabulous, and the reviews of restaurants and accomodations right on point, except for the prices, which of course are now higher. The descriptions of the hiking trails and points of interest are worth the price of the book alone, but there is much more than that. I would categorize this as a "must-have" for anyone visiting one or more of the western national parks. By the way, everyone needs to see these places!!

This is a nice guidebook. If you are planning a trip to the Rockies and are a first time visitor, this book is a valuable aid.

In addition to descriptions of what there is to see at the National Parks of the West, the book abounds in useful and practical information. There a driving guides, a very helpful "If You Only Have One Day" write-up, places to stay and a lot of helpful advice. I particularly appreciate the "..One Day" part, since it helps focus on the most interesting things to see for those who are making a whirlwind tour of the area.

This book is neatly organized and very accessible. I can't recommend it highly enough for anyone planning to take in some of our Western national parks.

This book contains an amazing amount of relevant information. We first used it to get preliminary info on a trip we made this summer to eight National Parks and the book proved to be accurate and very helpful. It is an excellent overview and yet has enough depth to be valuable both before and during a trip.

The book has great general info. on the numerous trails in our nation's biggest state. The information on trails that I hiked in the Palmer and Seward areas were right on the money, and I hope to use the guide on future trips up north.

I spent 3 mos. in Alaska and I had this book as well as Jim DuFresne's Backpacking Alaska (Lonely Planet). I used this book more for short day hikes and overnight backpacking trips whereas DuFresne's has more multi-day backpacking trips. The one thing that I really loved about this book was the elevation diagrams, DuFresne's book had none. But again, I used this book to fill in my gaps of time for short day hikes out of many of Alaska's more accessible towns. Good book for the "Hiker". DuFresne's book is good for the "Backpacker".

Dean -- Love the book -- especially the pictures of Gavin and me -- but you know that. To anyone else who reads this: Dean knows whereof he speaks: He's a good hiker and builds a good, environmentally sensitive campfire. Hope you don't mind my using this avenue to try to get your e-mail address.