2 comments about Haunted Tennessee.

1. This book will give you goosebumps! Very well told.The descriptions are vivid and told with an authoritative voice. I had a chance to meet the author at a book signing in Tennessee,He was very gracious and his knowledge of Haunting Lore was incredible!



2. Charles Edwin Price has written several books dealing with various supernatural subjects and I have generally enjoyed his books. This book like many of his other works however contains several stories that really do not belong. The title leads on to assume this is a book about Tennessee ghosts and there are indeed some ghost stories to be found within its covers. The ghost stories are interesting and well written but a little shallow and lacking in research. Still, the stories are enjoyable and are fun to read.

   Price however devotes way too much of his book to folklore and urban legends. He is quite caught up in Cherokee folklore and these tails, while interesting, do not belong in this book. Neither do the urban legends like the one about the rotting corpse that closely parallels the legend of the man with a hook for a hand. There is even a chapter that basically confuses Elvis' possible ghost with an Elvis impersonator. "Did the woman really see Elvis' ghost," he asks or did she see an impersonator? Does the fact there was a convention of Elvis imitators in town answer that question or not? I think that maybe Price was reaching just a little for material on that one.

   When he does impart ghost stories they are good, but too much effort and space is wasted on other things. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again but if Price ever concentrates on reliable recent first person accounts and forgets this other stuff, his books will be much better. The ability and style are there if he would just get rid of all of the old legends and folklore.

No comments about Nashville and Memphis: Comprehensive Travel Guide (Frommer's City Guide).

No comments about Compass American Guides: Tennessee, 2nd Edition (Compass American Guides).

No comments about A Guide to Historic Coal Towns of the Big Sandy River Valley.

1 comments about A Geologic Trip Across Tennessee by Interstate 40 (Outdoor Tennessee).

1. Having read "Our Restless Earth" by E. Luther, and having just completed a course in geology, I found "A Geologic Trip..." to be the perfect source document for increasing my knowledge of geology. Harry Moore takes you to a site, describes the geology, and gives explicit directions to locate examples of the geology at each site. This book is a must for any amateur paleontologist or geologist, and anyone who has the opportunity to travel I-40 across Tennessee. The book is organized with sidetrips as well, complete with mileage references, and descriptions of what you are viewing at each checkpoint. Mr. Moore has included numerous photos, maps and figures to flesh out what is a very entertaining book, and having read any part of the book, the reader will want to get on the road to visit the locations described.

No comments about Rand McNally Streets of Greater Knoxville, Tennessee.

3 comments about Southeastern Whitewater: 50 of the Best River Trips from Alabama to West Virginia.

1. Southeastern Whitewater describes fifty of the best whitewater paddling trips in the Southern Appalachians, ranging from the Little River Canyon to Big Sandy Creek and located in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. It won't replace Carolina Whitewater, Northern Georgia Canoeing, or other detailed state or watershed-specific books because it doesn't include everything (for example only the Cartecay and Lower Conasauga represent Georgia). On the other hand, it covers the entire southern Appalachians, so no matter where you are in the area this one book will describe something nearby to paddle. Only quality whitewater streams are included, so if it's in the book it's worthwhile doing. None of the trips in the book are appropriate for unaccompanied beginning paddlers. The average difficulty is Class III (IV) (similar to the Big South Fork, Nolichucky, or Ocoee) and about a third of the trips are more difficult than the Ocoee. Finally, Smith only included streams that he had paddled multiple times and knew well, so the detailed trip descriptions are outstanding. Many chapters have at least one full-page action picture of open-boaters doing a signature rapid (for example Julie Keller and Francis Cheung are featured in Entrance Rapid and Diamond Splitter).

   In addition to 50 detailed trip descriptions, Southeastern Whitewater introduces the Trip Relational Information Profile (TRIP) rating scale, an elegantly robust new way of comparing rivers on both specific and global dimensions of difficulty. The TRIP scale incorporates and normalizes nine dimensions of stream difficulty, "weights" them, and derives an overall difficulty rating. The nine dimensions include; Difficulty of Rapids, Volume x Gradient Interaction, Average Gradient, Streambed Morphology, Continuousness of Rapids, Maximum Gradient, Total Gradient, Inaccessibility, and Reputation. The 26 pages in Chapter 2 explain the TRIP scales. One-hundred is the average for each item; a 10 point difference is about half again as hard and a 20 point difference is about twice as hard. For example, many of us quickly work-up to the Nantahala (77 overall TRIP points) and become comfortable after doing it several times our first summer of paddling. Indeed, it is common to move right up to the Chattooga Section III (86 points). It's a lot tougher than the Nanty (10 pts or about half again as difficult), but it's usually within range except for the Bull. So... is Section IV a logical progression?. Section IV has an overall TRIP rating of 116, 30 points more than Section III. Whoa!! It's more than twice as hard. Definitely time to reconsider. The lower Tellico (96 TRIP pts) and Ocoee (104 TRIP pts) are more logical areas to become acquainted with first.




2. If you are going whitewater boating in the Southeast and you want to buy just one book, then this is it. Monte Smith describes all the best whitewater in the southern Appalachians and he soe a great job of it. The descriptions are both amusing and informative. His TRIP scale is extremely useful, although it defies any brief description here.

   I do have a criticism or two. First, Monte makes too many references to his other books. Second, Monte is a little full of himself. The envelope has been pushed far since his hey (sp?) day, and there are many more skilled and significant paddlers out there today. Despite those criticisms, the fact is that Southeastern Whitewater is now THE definitive regional whitewater guidebook for the southeast. There are more comprehensive state guidebooks (Benner's Carolina Whitewater or Corbett's Virginia White Water) but Monte Smith's book covers all the best whitewater in the whole region.




3. As an intermediate paddler I consider this book almost my bible. The TRIP scale is immensely useful for selecting trips and pre-evaluating what are suitable trips depending on my skills and that of the company I am with. I have found Monte's characterization and ratings of the rapids right on which is rare (example. Benner's Carolina book is excellent but the Tuckaseegee gorge is no class 2/3 river like the Nantahala is). The writing is superb and amusing, each section contains a wealth of information on nearby alternate trips, gradient statistics, length, gauge, etc. along with Monte's comments and injected personality which I found entertaining. The book has a wealth of rapid pictures too which I usually can't find with the exception of W. Nealy's maps and cartoons. Using this book I have been able to plot which rivers I need to become proficient on first. Next to checking the water levels, this is my primary source for plotting an itinerary up to Appalachia.

1 comments about Tennessee Simply Beautiful.

1. Having traveled extensively the length and breadth of the Volunteer State, Bob Schatz has collected and published some of his most impressive photographs in Tennessee: Simply Beautiful.
   
   A commercial photographer, Bob Schatz has been based in Nashville for over 25 years. His photographs are part of permanent collections at the Cheekwood Fine Arts Center, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Nashville Public Library and the Tennessee State Museum.
   
   Through the lens of his camera, Schatz has captured images such as the blues clubs of Beale Street in Memphis, the glittering Nashville skyline at night (featuring its latest addition, the "Batman" building), the bridge across the Nickajack Lake (near Chattanooga), the Sunsphere in Knoxville, and the main street of Jonesborough (Tennessee's oldest incorporated city).
   
   One sees the horse farms of the lush Foothills Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains; the wild Ocoee River in the Cherokee National Forest; and Jackson Falls, a natural waterslide just off the Natchez Trace Parkway.
   
   Other photos include Carnton Mansion, which can be seen in the background, behind the 1,481 marked graves of Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Franklin; and the Carter House, also in Franklin, where members of the Carter family huddled in the basement of their home while the battle raged around their house.
   
   One sees the Lynchburg Hardware & General Store ("all goods worth price charged"), where one can still buy a bottled Coke for a dime, and, on a hill above the store, one of the many barrel houses of the Jack Daniel Distillery, oldest in the country, registered in 1866.
   
   Some of the most beautiful photos are of Tennessee's natural beauty, such as Southern yellow wood sorrel spreading across the field of a Williamson County farm; an autumn view of deciduous trees in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains; Falls Creek Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls east of the Rocky Mountans; cypress trees on Reelfoot Lake in the northwest corner of the state; and a gorgeous shot, resembling an oil painting, of an old canoe sitting on the bank of a pond on Montpellier Farm near Franklin.
   
   In all, there are 129 full-color pictures culled from 15 years of work.
   
   The photo on the book's cover shows the rusting roof of a barn framed by the spring green of Water Valley, a view that can be found easily at the Water Valley Overlook just off the Natchez Trace Parkway.
   
   In an Introduction, Tipper Gore writes, "Bob Schatz has focused on nature, architecture, history, and culture in his unique portrait of the diversity, raw beauty, and eternal spirit of our state."
   
   One wonders why the photos of this volume weren't grouped in distinct sections reflecting the state's three geographical regions (East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee). And, although Mr. Schatz shows Lake Watauga, in the middle of Centennial Park in Nashville, I was disappointed that he omits The Parthenon.
   
   One easily forgives the author, however, when one views these awesome photographs. Tennessee is indeed a beautiful state . . . and Bob Schatz's photographic celebration of our state is simply beautiful.
   
   Roy E. Perry of Nolensville is an advertising copywriter at a Nashville publishing house. He may be reached at rperry1778@aol.com

1 comments about City Smart: Nashville.

1. I purchased this book before moving to Nashville and it was a tremendous help. The City Smart series breaks down a town into sections or even communities and then tells the reader what is available in that immediate area in a number of categories: entertainment, food, lodging, tourist attractions and more. All the places with in the book have been rated according to the author's personal criteria but when she said Brown's Diner has the best burger in Nashville, she wasn't kidding. Her rating scale is fair and very accurate. Easy to read maps are included in each section, with a larger one at the back which makes learning and navigating a new town a cinch! I found this book to be an invaluable resource for my relocation to Nashville. I tend to have lots of friends and family visit and it's been a fabulous tool for that. I've purchased other books in the City Smart series as well and was quite pleased with them, also. Even though I lived in Kansas City for 30 years, I found things in the City Smart Kansas City book I was completely unaware of. I am certain the City Smart Nashville book has increased my pleasure of living in Nashville. If you are visiting Nashville, looking into one of Nashville's fine colleges or moving here, you NEED this book!

No comments about AAA Southeastern States: Alabama, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, N Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, S Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, W Virginia: Bahama Islands, SE States Driving Distance (North American Regional Series 2007, 2007-521607).