No comments about Where the Locals Eat: Memphis The 100 Best Restaurants.

1 comments about See Rock City Barns: A Tennessee Tradition.

1. Ms. Capps' book includes paintings of the remaining Rock City Barns that dot the Tennessee landscape as well as interviews with owners, local stories, and maps to these landmarks that seem to disappear with saddening regularity. If dilapidated barns are your idea of art, you'll spend a lot of time pulling this book down and paging through it.
   (See www.ohiobarns.com for a section with photos of and directions to the Rock City Barns that remain around the US.)

4 comments about Paddling the Tennessee River: A Voyage on Easy Water (Outdoor Tennessee Series).

1. Trevathan's account of his canoe trip with his dog Jasper on the Tennessee River is an easy paddling sort of read. Like the trip itself, it's musing, meandering, a little slow in some places, but rapid and tense in others. The book is at its best with sidebars about the river's place in history - more specifically TVA history, descriptions of the Trail of Tears motorcycle ride in Florence, Alabama and conversations with real life characters who manage to make the Tennessee River their livelihood.

   Trevathan wrestles with the divergent interests that often conflict with each other. On one hand the TVA dams prevent widespread flooding and destruction of homes, but it also strips the river of its natural beauty. He rails against the large cabin cruisers that create wakes that toss his tiny boat, but then makes friends with a married couple who offer him cold beer and a tour of their luxury houseboat. The book is a reflection of the river --- a flotsam of history, travel, and an indictment of the insanity called "progress." Trevathan has successfully completed two voyages: one was canoeing the Tennessee, the other was writing about it.




2. Kim Trevathan's Paddling the Tennessee River: A Voyage on Easy Water is that rare bit of travel writing that manages to be informative, entertaining, and well written. As Trevathan makes his way down the essentially tamed Tennessee River looking for clues to its former wildness and beauty, he goes beyond a mere recording of visual observations and ends up with a story that reads more like a good novel than anything else. In the course of this book, which covers his five week journey down river, he touches on the history of the river and the region, modern eco-politics, the anti-septic world of corporate America (from which Trevathan is on brief hiatus), the prevailing southern stereotypes (will he or will he not be required to squeal like a pig at some juncture of his journey) and the still-surviving beauty of the great Outdoors. In short, this is an ambitious book, a commendation in itself. That Trevathan manages to chew what he has bitten off with humor, insight, and intelligence is a testament to his many talents.
   Oh, and you'll love the dog.



3. This book is fun to read. The historical aspects of the book hold the book together. As for the narrative it is too self centered. He worries too much about too many things. I can relate to the conflict between powerboaters and others. Some of the areas that he paddles my wife and I have paddled. He offered few details he doesn't side trip at Wheeler into the wildlife refuge,he just rushes through. He set an impossible schedule that made it hard to enjoy the trip. He talks way too much about his dog. We have a dog. Maybe he should have noticed the eagles and the turtles. When we paddle we enjoy the time well spent.



4. My wife and I do quite a bit of paddling. I was interested in learning about the Tennessee River when I first moved to Tennessee. I got much more than I bargained for with this book. Not only does the author narrate the journey, it was also the most painless introduction to a local region and its history that I have ever read. The author can come off as a bit of a tree hugger at times, but take it with a grain of salt. He did an outstanding job with this book and his writing style made it a very enjoyable read. I would recommend this to anyone.

No comments about Kids Love Tennessee: A Family Travel Guide to Exploring "Kid-Tested" Places in Tennessee...Year Round! (Kids Love).

2 comments about 50 Hikes in the Tennessee Mountains: Hikes and Walks from the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau.

1. 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.




2. Tennessee is one of the most beautiful of the southern states, especially the section east of Knoxville, and this book shows the reader some choice hiking adventures in that mountainous region. I used it during my visit there and had a great time exploring the Appalachian Trail. This is a fantastic guide book and is highly recommended.

No comments about Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook.

No comments about Insight Fleximap Memphis (Insight Flexi Map).

No comments about Nashville, Tennessee Popout Map: Downtown Nashville, Greater Nashville, Music Vally, Locater.

No comments about Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide (Outdoor Tennessee Series).

No comments about Gatlinburg & Smoky Mountains, Tennessee Street Map: Including Pigeon Forge, Pittman Center, Sevier County & Sevierville.