3 comments about The Best in Tent Camping: Tennessee: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Best in Tent Camping - Menasha Ridge).

1. Just what I was looking for! I live in Middle Tennessee and was surprised at the tent camping places in my own backyard that I didn't even know about. The easy directions and important information like camping rates, opening and closing times, and a detailing of all the fun activities at each campground, really make life easier. I have been looking for fun tent camping with my child that's close to home and this really helped me to narrow my options. I can't wait to get camping! Molloy did the leg work, now I get to have the fun! Mr. Molloy, you are my camping guru!



2. As an avid camper, although one who seems to have less and less time to camp the older I get, I often buy guidebooks to steer me in the direction of destinations I may find interesting. Usually I am disappointed, either by the format of the book, the accuracy of details, or the quantity of info. Molloy has surpassed my expectations. The book is user friendly, accurate in detail (I've been to many of the sites reviewed, and now plan to go to many others with this as my guide), and the quantity of sites reviewed will fill many many trips. It would be very easy to plan an entire trip using nothing but this gem. Way to go Molloy, I'll definitely check out your other guides in the future.



3. This book is excellent. The author lives in East Tennessee and has spent untold hours in the woods of this state. His detailed account of each campsite is a wonderful resource for those wanting to go camping away from it all. He details many sites which I would not have known exist if I hadn't bought this book. The layout of is great, with a 1-5 star rating of each campsite's privacy, spaciousness, quiet, security, and beauty. Also included is a (semi) detailed map of the campsite itself.
   I like his candid writing: he is not afraid of PC, and so if he likes or dislikes a site, he will come right out and say it, even indicating which sites are his personal favorites in the book.
   I own one more of his books, and any time I camp in another state, this will be the first authority I check, because of his ability to steer you in the direction of nature and not just some commercial campsite.

1 comments about Appalachian Trail Guide to Tennessee-North Carolina.

1. This packet will be very useful on our journey on the AT. The maps are waterproof and very detailed with shelters, mileage, and altitude. The book itself contains everything we needed to know about each section of the trail and allowed us to choose which sections we deemed most inviting.

1 comments about Insiders' Guide to Memphis, 3rd (Insiders' Guide Series).

1. I bought this as a gift for my brother who just relocated to Memphis. He and his wife use this book all the time and share with family and friends who visit to plan outings.

1 comments about 40 Hikes in Tennessee's South Cumberland (100 Hikes In...).

1. This is a great book. I live close to this area and thanks to this book I have hiked many of the trails. This book has been valuable and I highly recommend it.

1 comments about Scenic Driving Tennessee.

1. I ordered this book as a gift for someone moving to Tennessee. It's a wonderful guide to some places a litle off the beaten path. I was very pleased.

5 comments about Artificial Imagination.

1. ReKalpanik S. takes us through his arrival in USA as a student and subsequent travel to several places - San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, and San Diego. In each places, he focuses on similar aspect of his life as a technologist and an immigrant - acceptance by local people, standing out as a ethnic minority and foreign born, life as a technology execuitve and family life. In addition, he covers local food, people, culture and sources of enjoyment, joy, and finally, and his quest for love and balance.
   
   
   He adds so much meaning, passion and humor, he is so open with the readers that I felt like I was reading a private letter that someone would write only to their best friends.
   
   The writing is refreshingly unexpected, humorous and meaningful. Great read!!



2. 
   This book takes many life concepts expressed in different forms and combine them in a mishmash. He structures the 12 different personal essays, each highlighting a particular transitional period in his life or a specific experience in to a beautiful collage of experiences in this book very successfully. What a funny memoir!
   
   Kalpanik S. is a fine writer with a lot to say about a lot of things and a unique way of making you laugh! I highly recommend her book.



3. As a travelogue, Welcome to the USA is pretty good, Kalpanik certainly made me think about wanting to go to San Diego, Seattle and Nashville.
   
   as a character. Kalpanik seems simultaneously incredibly thoughtful and serious and yet someone who has a carefree attitude towards life, someone who handle life as it happens!
   
   It's a light reading, and yet thoughtful; funny yet serious; conversational yet literary!



4. Whether you ever wondered about meaning of it all, or you want to read something light amusing, or want to see places like Seattle, San Diego, and Nashville from the eyes of the writer, or vicariously live the life of a student at University of California, this book is for you!
   
   This book combines elements from good humor, a memoir, a scenic travelogue, a touching love story, science fiction and philosophy.
   
   The author, pretends to be an Artificial Imagination computer program simulating human creativity, describes the life/career journey of a modern nomad through the Hi Tech world of California and Washington (Settle). The book is clever, witty and obviously written by someone very intelligent but still manages to be very down to earth and funny! it's light reading, the author has a conversational style, you feel as if you are reading a letter from a close friend!!



5. This is the story of a brilliant young man who seems to be always on the move, moving from one interesting city to the other.
   
   At the beginning, the author leaves New Delhi for US, where he is awarded a fellowship to study at University of California, but he gets caught into culture shock, as well as an internal dilemma, seeking a deeper meaning of life. While he is most vulnerable, he manages to fall in love with one his student but is unable to express his feelings.
   
   Then he seems to have gone through the roller coaster ride of the technology industry emerging as a winner, a successful technologist leading a group of innovators.
   
   We end in beautiful San Diego, with a moving story about how the author and his family face the Inferno, the great wildfires of 2007.
   
   I don't believe anyone has experienced living unless they have ventured around like the author has. It is in his narratives, his reaction to the challenges he faces and his observations of people and culture of various places that he truly shines.
   
   It is my top read of the year!

2 comments about A Cruising Guide to the Tennessee River, Tenn-Tom Waterway, and Lower Tombigbee River.

1. Narrative cruising guide...but if you're really going to cruise it, use in conjunction with more detailed maps from:
   
   US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, MOBILE CORPS OF ENGINEERS
   ATTN: LO-SR
   PO BOX 2288
   MOBILE, AL 36628



2. I would rate this book as a "must-have" for anyone cruising the Tennessee River. We've also used it to help transit the TennTom Waterway from the Tennessee River down to Mobile, and it was quite helpful there as well, although somewhat dated. When the TennTom portion of the book was written the waterway was quite new, and with the passage of 10-15 years some of the recommended anchorages have shoaled and become unusable for boats of anything but very shallow draft. Still, this guide helped us find more than one excellent anchorage that we likely would have missed otherwise.

2 comments about 100 Trails of the Big South Fork: Tennessee & Kentucky (100 Hikes In...).

1. This is a natural. These two states are often confused and lumped together. It is good that we have a book to deepen our understanding of this neck of the woods.



2. I love this book. It is very accurate and descriptive. It gives all the information needed to hike these trails. The trailhead descriptions are easy to locate and the trail directions are easy to follow. It was on one of these trails that I had my first up-close encounter with a black bear and her cub. No problems. Whew...
   
   I recently had the pleasure of meeting the author of this book on a trail in the Smokies. He was taking notes of changes since the last edition of his 100 Hikes in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park book. This tells me that he keeps up to date of changes.
   
   
   I enjoy this book enough to also own another of Russ Manning's books. 40 Hikes in Tennessee's South Cumberland which is a book I highly reccommend also.

4 comments about Great Smoky Mountains National Park Angler's Companion.

1. Up front I have to say that I have had the author guide me on three separate occasions. On one of those trips, he taught my wife how to fly fish in the Smokies and she caught some nice trout on dry flies. So he doesn't just write about fishing - he really fishes. If you are looking for a guide book that will tell you precisely where to fish and gives away all the prime spots; this isn't it. The author tells you where the streams are and how to get to them. He tells the equipment you need and some techniques. If you already know a little bit about trout fishing this is a perfect guide book. It has enough information but it isn't a kiss-and-tell book. Having read the other available books on the GSMNP, I can say this is the best of it's kind. If you want to really get the inside scoop hire Ian as a guide for a few days. He is a great guy and this is a great book!



2. A tribute to concise writing, Ian's book imparts exactly the amount of information needed to plan and fish the Smokies. I'm a dedicated fly fisher from Northern California who travels to Tennessee each Spring, and while there are other guide books describing the park, Ian's is the best at capturing the flavor of each stream and river.
   
   What shines through all the information is Rutter's obvious love for these streams, rivers, and typically smallish trout. Indeed, he's widely regarded as a leading expert on the Brook Trout of the park, and even helps the scientific teams gather data about the range and recovery of the native Brook trout.
   
   Adding a love of fly fishing to that level of knowledge - and wrapping it up in a direct, friendly writing style - and you've got a winner. Thumbs up.



3. Ian did a great job of presenting the information on the park and identifying great placed to fish for trout. A highly recommended reading.



4. This book is full of very specific information about Smoky Mountain trout fishing. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to fish the area.

5 comments about Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia: Fly-Casting in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, Second Edition.

1. 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.



2. This book provides the most comprehensive guide to the fishing streams in North and South Carolina. It is a great resource and each description has a map number so each is very easy to locate.



3. The author's knowledge of the territory, exact locations and land marks is very helpful. He does not go in to much, if any, detail about insect life in the streams. Overall a very good book in rating streams, fishing quality, and helping you get there.



4. If Jimmy Jacobs has written a book on a subject of interest to you, buy it. His guide books on southern trout fishing are thorough, concise and leave the reader prepared to catch fish regardless of the destination. He gives you all the information you need to be in position to succeed...the rest is up to you.



5. A good book, but seemed to be a bit biased towards Jacob's home state of GA. They had the most comprehensive reviews and got more waters than others. To his credit, it is still a good read with some decent information on access points. I'd recommend a book more concentrated to the area you are going, but for all regions of Southern Appalachia, this is not bad considering there is not many books that cover this many miles of trout waters.