No comments about Roamin' with the roamin' man of the Smoky Mountains.

No comments about The 710.

No comments about Tennessee State Slicker.

2 comments about Traveling Tennessee: A Complete Tour Guide to the Volunteer State from the Highlands of the Smoky Mountains to the Banks of the Mississippi River.

1. Cathy and I looked through many guide books before attempting to write Traveling Tennessee. We found none covered the state in our easy helpful style (see Traveling the Trace and Traveling the Southern Highlands).

   We followed the pioneers through the state from east to west giving you a brief history of the people and the area, and what you would find there today. Tennessee offers many pleasant surprises along its highways from scenic sites to activies you may participate in. For instance, you know of the Great Smoky Mountains but do you know the quite side of the Smokies? where Tennessee's first gold rush was? about a failed Utopia brought back to life? the courthouse stolen in the middle of the night? or where you can swim at the end of a scale model of the Misssissippi River?

   We strove to give you information and details about interesting attractions all across Tennessee as well as B&Bs, dining, shopping, special events, camping, and where to get more information. More than 200 photos help tell the stories in this 316-page guide.




2. This guidebook never leaves my car! It always tells me something new to discover about Tennessee!

No comments about The Best Short Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains.

No comments about It Happened in Tennessee.

No comments about Memphis: New Visions, New Horizons (Urban Tapestry Series).

2 comments about Kingsport, Tennessee: A Planned American City.

1. Kingsport's population peak during WWII has never returned again, despite a half century of growth by annexation. Professor Wolfe has done a very fine job of archival research and interviews to enlighten the reader. Though her survey is more critical, obviously, than a publication each decade of the 90's by the local Rotary Club, Wolfe ads the human element and anecdotal illustrations to complement the Rotary's advertising bent.

   City builder J. Fred Johnson has become a legendary and almost apocrypha figure for this town in the foothills of Southern Appalachia. Middle class factory workers and country club executives dominated this city during the 20th century. But the 21 century has arrived as industrial downsizing is taking a toll.

   Wolfe tells the true story as it really happened, 'warts and all.' Hopefully either Professor Wolfe or someone else will fill in more details and produce a future volume that fills in the gaps of the history of this city whose most prominent claim to fame is the hometown and idyllic setting of Lisa Alther's veiled trashy novel, "Kinflicks."




2. Though written in 1987 - this book is probably the best book covering nearly all aspects of the forming of Kingsport, history, as well as the industrial influence and background. I would love for Dr. Wolfe to revisit this book and update some of the information - as Kingsport has grown, but the Industies are suffering. I would like to know what her opinion is also, of the outsourcing of jobs to other countries and major plants shutting down in the city, leaving hundreds of workers scrambling to garner ne employment. But what employment is available is always less paying and with less benefits, and less hope of a decent retirement. It's a shame. Rambling aside, I recommend Dr. Wolfe's book because she doesn't sugar coat the facts like some of the other books about the city have done.

No comments about The Best of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: A Hiker's Guide to Trails and Attractions (Tag-Along Books).

3 comments about Old Money, New South: The Spirit of Chattanooga.

1. Dean Arnold has written the new standard on Chattanooga history. Chattanooga has an interesting history as it has been at the center of several key events in our nation's history: The Trail of Tears, the turning point of the Civil War, the beginning of the end of Christian missions to the American Indians. Chattanooga is arguably the most religious city in the United States with a great deal of philanthropy and Christian organizations. It is also a city that often runs like a small town because of the small number of extremely prominent, and surprisingly beneficent, families which have controlled much of the city's direction.
   
   Arnold has produced a beautifully lavish book with many photos and illustrations (pity there's no picture yet, this is a nice cloth book). It's a fun read if you are interested in what Chattanooga is all about and how it got there. If you want to know Chattanooga, buy this book.



2. I was looking forward to reading this book about Chattanooga and its' "gentry" but was terribly disappointed. Between misspelled words, repetitive text (I honestly think he used copy and paste on several paragraphs in different chapters) and the most confusing organization imaginable, it was a real let-down.
   
   He spent several pages on street preachers, but not one word about magnet schools. Touting the "Big Three" private schools took up a lot of space, (including extensive reporting on cancelling a football game to prevent graffiti, which I don't get) but the only reference to the Public Education Foundation and Steve Prigozy was simply that they existed. Not to cover the conception, growth and success of the many magnet schools which have changed the face and quality of public education in Chattanooga is a disgrace.
   
   Besides whining that he did not get an interview with Jack Lupton, the only thing of substance the author shared was that the founders of our fair city were Presbyterian. The chapter on the history of the name of the town was confusing and inconclusive. What tripe! This was a promising effort, but a dismal failure. Don't bother to buy this book. If you absolutely have to read it, get it from the library and donate the money you would have spent on it to support our local lending institutions



3. Sure the author is a narcissist, taking long tangents to discuss his courage for writing this book, or often citing himself as proof for various claims. Yet for those interested in the history of Chattanooga and in particular how the present has been determined by the past, well, there's no more compelling read on the subject. It's downright scandalous at times, as if you'd discovered the private diary of the City.