Tennessee Books

Stephen D. Engle's Struggle for the Heartland takes the latest scholarship on "the campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth" and ties the military, political, and social issues faced during the campaign into an efficient and readable discussion of these events. The book is an entry in the University of Nebraska Press' Great Campaigns of the Civil War series of books. The book covers the time frame of the military campaign from Fort Henry to Corinth, including the Battle of Shiloh. Rather than focusing solely on military events, however, Engle provides a large amount of coverage to social and political considerations as well. The result, then, is a balanced overview of a campaign in which there was a "struggle for the heartland" of the Confederacy.

Northern military planners saw the obvious routes of attack into the Confederate "heartland" region provided by the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. It was simply a matter of preparing the armies to move in this direction, at least according to timid, methodical minds such as Henry Halleck and Don Carlos Buell, the two department commanders in the west. Albert Sidney Johnston, the overall Confederate commander in the west, gave wide latitude to his subordinates. One of these, Bishop Polk, had become obsessed with defending Columbus, Kentucky along the Mississippi River and virtually ignored the forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland to the east, even though they were in his department. The Union preparation may have taken quite a long time if not for the aggressive nature of Halleck's then unknown subordinate Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was determined to take Forts Henry and Donelson, defenders of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, respectively. His movement south caught both Halleck and Buell somewhat by surprise. The end result was that Grant managed to take both forts and capture over 10,000 Southern prisoners while Halleck and Buell haggled over cooperating in the expedition. As Grant's Army of the Tennessee rested and refitted along the Tennessee River south of the now captured forts Buell was to march his army southwest to meet them. Continued arguments between Halleck and Buell coupled with Grant's complacency at his Pittsburg Landing camp almost ended in disaster at the Battle of Shiloh. While Buell slowly marched toward the Tennessee River, Johnston and his subordinates had been busy at Corinth trying to recover the large amount of territory lost to Grant at the forts. The Battle of Shiloh prematurely ended these hopes as Grant's army was able to recover from their shock at being attacked and hold on as Buell's Army of the Ohio reached the field of battle. Johnston was killed and Beauregard, his second in command, was forced to retreat to Corinth. At this point in the campaign, Henry Halleck managed to obtain sole command of the armies in the West, and he gathered the armies of Grant, Buell, and Pope (fresh off a victory at Island No. 10 on the Mississippi) for a laborious advance on Corinth, the most vital railroad crossing in the Confederacy. The ending to this large campaign was anticlimactic, as Beauregard was forced to retreat due to poor water and increasing sickness in his army. Halleck had taken Corinth and cleared the Confederate Heartland of Southern armies. These military campaigns had seen great change in the way the North would prosecute the war, with important consequences.


Engle focuses quite a lot of time and energy to explaining how the large increase in the amount of Confederate territory controlled by the Union led to changes in the initial "soft war" policy espoused by the Lincoln Administration. Before Grant sailed south on the Tennessee to assault Fort Henry, Union armies were typically restrained and respectful when it came to the treatment of Southern civilians. No one better personified this idea than the commanders currently in charge of Union affairs: George B. McClellan as General In Chief with Henry Halleck and Don Carlos Buell as department heads in the West. These men were all democrats, and they believed in a war that would not upset the status quo. In other words, they wanted to leave the slavery issue alone, instead trying to treat Southerners well and return their slaves in the hope that they would come quickly and quietly back into the Union. The campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth showed that this soft war policy was not practical. Southerners continued to resist even when treated well, and guerilla forces sprung up where Confederate armies were unable to hold territory in a conventional manner. Soldiers from privates to generals also began to see the difference between poor white subsistence farmers and wealthy slave owners, eventually blaming the institution of slavery as the primary cause of the war. These troops began to resent orders such as Buell's General Orders 13a, which prevented foraging, returned runaway slaves, and otherwise treated Southerners with kid gloves. Men such as division commander Ormsby Mitchel began to take matters into their own hands, and eventually the government agreed with this "hard war" course of action. Ironically, writes Engle, the Union push into Confederate leaning western and central Tennessee only hastened the Union policy change. If Buell had instead invaded Unionist eastern Tennessee, per Lincoln's wishes, this soft war policy may have continued long past June 1862.


The Union war effort in the west was plagued with bickering among its top commanders, writes Engle. Partly to blame was the unwieldy command structure. Don Carlos Buell's Department of the Ohio and Henry Halleck's Department of Missouri joined together at the Tennessee River, precisely where the easiest avenue of attack into the Confederate Heartland was located. This naturally enough caused great friction between the two men, both of whom always proceeded cautiously and believed their own opinions were correct on military matters. McClellan and Lincoln did not help matters in Washington, instead simply ordering the two men to cooperate. While they bickered over who should move first and along what lines, Grant seized the initiative and moved, catching both men by surprise. Buell still refused to send much help and almost literally warned Halleck not to fail. Grant's attacks succeeded, and the next logical move was to concentrate on the Tennessee for a move against Corinth. This time Buell did finally move, but he managed to take his time. Luckily for Grant, Army of the Ohio division commander "Bull" Nelson marched forward rapidly and was available late on the first day at Shiloh. The command friction between these two men only ended when Halleck managed to persuade Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton that the West needed one commander.


Halleck also had his problems with Grant. Grant's victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson made Halleck jealous, and he childishly reacted by removing Grant from command on trumped up charges of drunkenness and Grant's failure to be present with his army when the Confederates launched an attack at Fort Donelson. Lincoln and Halleck, impressed with the aggressive Grant, and especially when they considered the conservative Halleck and Buell, lost no time in forcing Halleck to reinstate Grant. After Shiloh, Halleck again removed Grant from command of the Army of the Tennessee, bumping him up to the meaningless and superfluous "second in command" position during the advance on Corinth. Despite these and other quarrels, the Northern armies were able to force the Confederates from a large portion of the territory they held at the beginning of 1862.


Much of the Southern failure to hold this territory has to do with Jefferson Davis' utter lack of concern for the West. The roots of this attitude can be traced to the appointment of Albert Sidney Johnston to command in the West. Johnston was Davis' friend, and Davis believed him to be the finest general the Confederacy had. Davis left Johnston with very little men and materiel to work with, and as a result he had far too few men with which to defend a far too long defense line running from the Appalachians to the Indian Territory. To make matters worse, says Engle, Johnston frequently gave his subordinates far too much latitude in defending their various districts. This came back to haunt Johnston when General Polk became obsessed with defending Columbus, Kentucky, spending very little time preparing Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Grant's quick strike caught the Confederate generals by surprise as well, and Johnston decided not to fight for Fort Donelson, in effect abandoning middle Tennessee and the capital at Nashville. This loss of large amounts of territory shocked and angered many Southerners, and Davis finally consented to send Johnston reinforcements. Johnston and Beauregard attempted to regain the lost territory with a surprise attack at Shiloh and failed, costing Johnston his life in the process. Beauregard was subsequently unable to hold Corinth in the face of a large Union force, poor water, and increasing sickness in his command.


Despite these Union successes, the Northern Generals did not typically take the political concerns of the Lincoln Administration into account in their military planning. The main case in point for the time frame of this book, according to Engle, concerns Lincoln's desire to liberate Unionist leaning, mountainous eastern Tennessee from Confederate rule. Lincoln knew that this area centered on Knoxville, Tennessee would more readily come back into the Union than the other flatter, slave holding sections of the state. Buell repeatedly refused to advance in this direction (at the same time refusing to cooperate with Halleck), claiming bad roads and numerous other reasons for delay. Buell also clashed with the Lincoln appointed military Governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson. Johnson was a Radical Republican, and he wanted southerners punished for their treason. He and Buell held violently opposite views on the prosecution of the war, and they would clash for as long as Buell held command of the Army of the Ohio.

Struggle for the Heartland is one volume of many in the Great Campaigns of the Civil War Series, published by the University of Nebraska Press. Series editors Anne J. Bailey and Brooks Simpson write that the series "offers readers concise syntheses of the major campaigns of the war, reflecting the findings of recent scholarship. The series points to new ways of viewing military campaigns by looking beyond the battlefield and the headquarters tent to the wider political and social context within which these campaigns unfolded..." In addition to exploring strictly military events from February to June 1862 along the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi Rivers, Struggle for the Heartland takes a deeper look at the political and social issues as well, weaving all of these together into a cogent whole.

The eight maps are functional, but the battle maps do not add considerably to the discussion. The notes are mostly secondary sources, but in this case it is acceptable since the book's primary purpose is to bring together a syntheses of the latest findings on this subject. I suspect that the other books in this series follow this mold as well. Rather than a bibliography, we instead get a "Bibliographical Essay" of several pages. While I typically favor a standard bibliography, the focus and goals of this series make this essay perfectly acceptable under the circumstances. The index is rather bare bones as well, but serves its purpose.

Struggle for the Heartland is a well written summary of the campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth, giving readers used to a military-only approach to the Civil War a look into the political and social aspects of of the war tie into and guide military thinking. Engle's book is a fine example of "New Military History", and one which should serve to enlighten quite a few students of the war used to standard military history approach to a campaign. I do not want to imply that this book supplants those focusing on specific battles, such Benjamin Franklin Cooling's work on Forts Henry and Donelson or Larry Daniel's and Wiley Sword's studies of Shiloh. Instead, Struggle for the Heartland supplements traditional campaign studies and ties together strategic, political, and social concerns across a large area and span of time. I would recommend this one to those readers less interested in the military tactics of the battles themselves who are instead looking to study other aspects of the war. The book also serves as a fine primer for those students of military history looking to decipher how political and social aspects of the conflict moved and shaped military campaigns.

Struggle For The Heartland: The Campaigns From Fort Henry To Corinth by Stephen D. Engle (Professor of History, Florida Atlantic University) relates the Civil War campaign that began in early 1862 with Union penetration under General Ulysses S. Grant into the Confederate held west that culminated with the Northern capture of the Southern defended town of Corinth, Mississippi. Historian Stephen Engle also examines how prewar economic relations formed in this region, how relationships between locality and loyalty were developed and expressed, the commanders on both sides of the conflict, as well as other civil and military authorities. Engle also describes the campaigns' significance within the larger theater of war and the post-war era of Reconstruction. The Struggle For The Heartland is an informed and informative contribution to Civil War Studies and an enthusiastically recommended contribution to academic reference collections, as well as Civil War buff reading lists.

Struggle For The Heartland: The Campaigns From Fort Henry To Corinth by Stephen Engle (professor of history, Florida Atlantic University) is the exhaustively researched, in-depth story about the military campaign that was the first significant Northern advance into the Confederate west. This campaign crushed all hopes the South had for avoiding a protracted battle, and set the stage for a grim and bloody war of attrition. Highly recommended for Civil War studies reading lists and reference collections, Struggle For The Heartland is an alternately fascinating and disturbing portrayal of a pivotal aspect of American military history.

This play was originally a failure when it was produced on Broadway. It was not until the 1952 Circle in the Square production directed by Jose Quintero and starring Geraldine Page (who also played the part to perfection in the 1962 film version) that the show became a success. The original production must have been poorly done, because the play is a masterpiece even when one simply reads it. An allegory that takes place in Mississippi during the first decades of this century, the story concerns Alma Winemiller, a proper but slightly affected minister's daughter, and John Buchanan, a young doctor with a penchant for the fast lane. Over the course of the play, the two come to understand each other with more clarity and compassion, until they are each transformed. The character of Alma is said to have been Williams' own favorite. This is Williams on a par with "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." -- NOTE: This is the acting edition of the play and differs slightly from the reading edition, which includes a deleted prologue showing John and Alma as children.

Summer and Smoke has always been my favorite Williams' play, even though he himself thought it was too melodramatic. The story concerns a woman named Alma Winemiller, an Episcopal minister's daughter in the town of Glorious Hill, Mississippi at the turn of the century. She's been in love with the boy next door since she was a little girl; John Buchanan, Jr.

John, Magna Cum Laude from Johns Hopkins, has recently returned from medical school. However, he spends his summer drinking and womanizing as an outlet for his doubts and fears and doesn't want to be a doctor anymore. The course of the play revolves around Alma saving John's body and soul, but in the process of doing so she loses herself.

I love this play (as if that means anything to anyone) and it is worth your time in reading it. Enjoy!

Tennessee Williams's SUMMER AND SMOKE meditates on the flesh and the spirit, symbolically exploring their conflict and the role they play in human happiness. We witness here the damaging effect of embracing one at the expense of the other, for in the end we are left with the idea that one must complement the other if our lives are to be fulfilled.

The play, like TW's other seminal works, takes place in the American South, a region whose religiosity makes it an especially appropriate setting for a fight between body and soul. Soul is represented by Alma, a preacher's daughter, while the body is represented by John, the son of a doctor and a young physician himself. Despite her Puritanical upbringing, Alma (whose name means "soul")has been attracted to John from the very beginning, when she first made cat eyes on him as a child. But because she supresses her physical attraction to him, she becomes both frigid and hysterical. John, on the other hand, believes all talk of the soul to be so much mumbo jumbo, as he embarks on a life of lechery and debauchery, earning for himself a bad name among the pillars of the community. By the turning point of the play, it's obvious that total preoccupation with the spirit leads to spiritual decay while tending only to sensual desires leaves the body vulnerable to injury and death.

Like Arthur Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN,SUMMER AND SMOKE reads much like a screen play as numerous sets--a public park, a rectory, a doctor's office, among others--are utilized multiple times during the course of this twelve scene play. The effect would be jarring except that Williams, like Miller, uses lighting to make transitions. The reader will also find that TW uses numerous symbols--a statue, an anatomy chart, etc.--to make his point. And while the ending may stretch beyond believability, it's still a powerful reminder that we should avoid an either/or approach to spirit and body.

This is an extraordinary story about a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Buy this book today and soak up the joy and courage of a free people claiming their right to raise their voices in protest.

Phil Valentine was Tennessee's Paul Revere. Not only was he there, right in the middle of the action, he was rallying the citizens of Tennessee to claim their rightful place in government.

This is one amazing, inspiring story. GET THIS BOOK.

I work in the state tax area, so I enjoyed the historical accounts of tax revolts. I also enjoyed hearing about the TN legislature's political moves used in trying to get a personal income tax passed. No surprise that the writing style is rather self-aggrandizing (Mr. Valentine is a talk-show radio host.)

I listen to Mr. Phil Valentine Monday through Friday, here in middle Tennessee. I and my family were at these Capitol Tax Revolt Rallies in Nashville. I urge you to grab the opportunity to become inspired toward "rebellion against an overbearing, bloated, arrogant and abusive government" by reading this book. Mr. Valentine is eloquent and, yet, easy to follow.

Come on! I'll meet you all at the town square!

If you're familiar with the myriad bios on TW out there, you won't find many new bits here. Definitely treat yourself to reading "Something Cloudy Something Clear" alongside "TW in Provincetown". Despite never being quite certain what is autobio and what is wishful thinking in this play, it certainly gives you an invocation of the era more than "TW in Provincetown" does. As a record of gaylife in the WWII era, the book could've been a little more indepth on the subject - I'm not sure how many gay men & women were able to enjoy their lifestyles as much as TW did.

In what David Kaplan in the "Preface" calls a monograph rather than a biography, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS IN PROVINCETOWN covers four brief seasons in the playwright's life spent at what he described in his MEMOIRS as "the frolicsome tip of the Cape," 1940, 1941, 1944 and 1947. Williams was 29 when he first went to the Cape in 1940. It was there that he had his first brief love affair and also met the man he was to spend 14 years or his life with, Frank Merlo. It was a time of youthful abandon, innocence, great expectations, disciplined mornings as a writer and nights of sexual freedom that Provincetown provided.

Mr. Kaplan acknowledges that much of Williams' Provincetown story has been covered by other biographers and gives them credit, including voluminous footnotes as well as a bibliography here. He also indicates that he was able to interview several persons still living who knew Williams during this time in his life and offers new information including material published for the first time: (For instance, the poem "Request" with the lines, "Remember me as one of your lovers,/not the greatest of these, not the least,/but in some small way distinguished from all of the others/Remember me, in the end, please, as one of your lovers.")

The author also managed to uncover unpublished photographs of Williams, along with shots of his first love Kip Kiernan and his hot-blooded lover Pancho Rodriguez. According to Kaplan, as Williams became more famous, he was sought out for sex by people wanting to sleep with a rising playwright. On the other hand, he was quite a looker, as the nude photographs here indicate, and was very successful as well in trysts with strangers.

Mr. Kaplan writes of other artists Williams spent time with, Jackson Pollock, Tullulah Bankhead, Marlon Brando--who fixed the plumbing of the toilet in the Provincetown house where Williams was staying before auditioning for and getting the part of Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire"--Carson McCullers et al. He also gives an insightful analysis of one of Williams' later plays, "Something Cloudy, Something Clear."

Unlike some of Williams' biographers who wrote for the sensational (Kaplan names names) and critics whose homophobia oftened surfaced in their reviews, this writer approaches his task with the reverence that a writer of Williams' stature richly deserves.

Tennessee Williams in Provincetown sheds much needed insight on what is too often perceived as "murky" regarding Williams' accomplishments. Author David Kaplan vigorously asserts that excessive scrutiny on Williams' complicated and often chaotic life obscured his literary accomplishments. While Williams' time in Provincetown was limited, his writings bore fruit for future works including Night of the Iguana, Sudden Last Summer among others. Kaplan also advises that Tennesse Williams, struggling with whatever demons, still made the effort of regular, disciplined work throughout his life. Kaplan's descriptions of the Provincetown Williams partook of during the early 1940's is evocative and atmospheric. Among the anecdotes is a charming recounting of meeting actress Tallulah Bankhead, and their ensuing friendship. Kaplan identifies striking parallels of Williams with another Provincetown "alumnus" playwright Eugene O'Neill. This ably researched monograph results in a highly admirable brief and defense of Tennessee Williams' legacy.

Although not a staple of Three Years a Soldier, the issue of white perception of race adds to the growing assurances that most northerners really were not abolitionists. Private George Perkins letters and commentary on slavery and blacks themselves rejects the popular elementary depiction of white Union soldiers liberating the slaves. Perkins reveals that he is against slavery not for its moral effects but rather its social implications. His letters consist of racist views and expressions thus perpetrating Perkins as antislavery but not an abolitionist.

This diary and correspondence with the Middlesex Journal, the hometown newspaper of Woburn, Massachusetts, illustrate a soldier who joined as a patriot to fight for his country. However, the differences between Perkins's private thoughts and his public column bear additional attention. First, Perkins attitudes towards politics or public matters appear more frequently in the journal than his diary. The tendency to preach on the commitment to the cause and the moral superiority of those who act as the "defenders of our liberty [who] shall make our nation pure and Christian-like" reveal a man deeply committed to the ideals of a patriotic duty. (255)

An interesting revelation in Perkins diary is his attitude towards officers, particularly when it comes to discipline. A republican who believed that he was morally and intellectually superior, Perkins saw his duty as a soldier as to question the commands and decisions of those above him in rank. Perkins did not subscribe to camp discipline and saw it as meaningless in the grand scheme of fighting for the Union. He desired officers who wanted to connect with their men, who shared their discomforts and tribulations. Interestingly enough is Perkins admiration for Major General Joseph Hooker, the much-maligned commander of the Army of Potomac during the Chancellorsville campaign. Perkins credits "Fighting Joe" commenting that his bravery, careful judgment, and treatment of common soldiers improved the army after Ambrose Burnside. Indeed, Perkins was high on Hooker but the general's political attachment to the radical republicans perhaps really illustrates Perkins affections for the man.

This book adds to the ever-growing home front and community studies that illustrate the varying ideological perceptions of the common soldier. From political agendas to social commentary to racial attitudes, much can be gained using this work as an initial probe that could lead to larger texts. An outstanding introduction, which clearly puts Perkins's perspective in its proper place, this book is a great addition to a Civil War library.

Perkin's diary offers great insight into the daily life of an ordinary artilleryman during the Civil War. Men in the artillery were cross-trainied and Perkins did a little bit of everything from driving caissons and battery wagons to serving on the gun crew. Also the 6th New York Independent Battery was first used as foot artillery and then later was made into horse artillery thus providing insight from an artilleryman's perspective who served with both the infantry and the cavalry. Reading the diary you live every day with Perkins. He was no perfect soldier and was often given extra duty for various infractions, usually for being late somewhere. I was amused by the number of entries that stated he didn't have to stand guard duty because he couldn't be found. The diary refelcts the ups and downs in his morale, his occasional bouts with illness, and his very palpable grief at the lost of a brother.

The book, "Three Years a Soldier", by Richard Griffin, is one of the most interesting books on the Civil War that I have read in a long time. This book covers the three years of service by George Perkins of the 6th NY Independent Battery, Perkins being a great-grandfather of the author, Griffin. The book consists primarily of the Perkins journal and newspaper articles. George Perkins was clearly proud of his service and wanted posterity to read these documents.

Many history books concentrate on "big picture" matters, such as wartime strategy, decisions made by leaders, etc. But an equally fascinating historical question is to understand the mindset of people of the time. Why did they do what they did, what was important to them, etc. Obviously this book falls into the second category and in a highly successful way. George Perkins is particularly of interest in this regard because he shares so many core values of his contemporaries in spite of having the education and background that could easily have made him much different. This only goes to show how deeply embedded these values were to Americans of the 1860s:

- Patriotism. Perkins doesn't say much about why he joined the Army in Dec 1861, but a growing sense of patriotism shows itself in the course of the journal, particularly a resentment of those who had not joined the army.
- Courage. George doesn't talk much about courage, but this was a core value that he obviously shared with his contemporaries. On a number of occasions, he mentions close calls with snipers or artillery while he was carrying out his battery duties under fire.
- Religion. The Winter of 1863-64 saw a nationwide revival movement, especially in both Confederate and Union armies. George was an active participant in early 1864.
- Individualism. George Perkins did his duty when in combat. But in camp or while training, he was a constant pain to his officers, consistently showing a resentment of authority and a feeling of superiority to those men placed over him. It is actually quite amusing to read of the various ways he flouted authority. To his credit he generally accepted, with few complaints, the punishment that almost always followed. George was certainly not the only soldier with this mindset.

The most important things one can say about George Perkins are also the simplest. When his country needed him, he was there, and when the bullets were flying, he stood to his duty. I feel honored to read of his service and I recommend this book to all.

This guidebook to wild flowers in North Carolina has about 500 species illustrated, each with a description and a small photograph of the flower and plant. The guide deserves high marks for the number of species included and the scholarship which went into describing each by location, blooming date, and other information. Brief tidbits concerning medicinal uses, edibiity, and folklore of the plant are included in many descriptions. Indexed are both scientific and common names of each plant.

However, the guide is nearly worthless for the field identification of flowers. There needs to be some sort of key or pattern to help with identification. There seems no rhyme nor reason I can discern with the order in which the flowers are described. It would be a lot better if the flowers were grouped by blooming date and color, e.g. yellow flowers that appear in May should be together as should purple flowers blooming in September.

So, if you want to go into your backyard and identify what is blooming there you will need a field guide, not this book.

Smallchief

Excellent reference book for use in describing flowers growing in North Carolina at certain times of year.

This is a good book to bring along on day hikes. Clear photos and identifying information. It is not about gardening wildflowers.

With 600 color photos and 1200 species described this is by far the most comprehensive book for identifying flowers of the region. It is a book for the serious who really want to name as many flowers as they can. It may be a bit too comprehensive for a beginner who just wants to find the common flowers because of the sheer quantity .

This is the most comprehensive and inclusive book I have been able to find about the Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachain. It is very helpful in identification but is a little lacking but only slightly in some other informative plant information. It has all of the basics and I love the book to be sure. Needs to add more asides about the plants...etc..what they might have been used for. It definately has been the most helpful book to have around to identify all the flowers. I would not be without it. By far my favorite.

This book is a true tour de force, as Smith draws from his 20,000 photographs and 20 years of experience in the botany of the southern mountains.

This is my second attempt at writing a review for this book. I'm wondering why my first review was never posted. I detailed my reason for giving this book a 3 star rating. I won't elaborate again... just will say that several things mentioned in the book rubbed me the wrong way - and I thought it could have been better written.

This book is great. It is a must read for anyone who has tested positive for HIV,has aids,or knows anyone who are in either of these situations. All others not in any of these categories, will be touch by the way that Dr. Mahlon Johnson's opens up his heart and shares even the most intimate thoughts and details of his life as he goes about "working on a miracle". He explains in a very understandable way exactly how he waged war on the virus that had invaded his body. He shares how the courage of one person who touch his life renewed his strength and inspired him to continue his battle with the enemy. So much to learn from this book.

I read the book and i think is a extraordinary human review of a patient with aids, he showed to us how difficult is live with this desease and the important role of hope in the course of the desease. Creo que es una obra recomendada para todo paciente con VIH/SIDA.

I love this book as well as the other Russ Manning guide books. Although I try to keep books in great shape this one is so well used that it is dog-eared, written in, and just generally bent from all of the backpacking it has done. I rely on the guide book to get me to new heights in the Smokies. Russ Manning does a great description with the maps and with the hikes. And I know that he keeps up with the changes in the terrain since I have met him on one of my hikes in the Smokies.

You don't have to just hike the Appalacian trail if you visit the Smokey Mountain National Park....and this book proves it. Packed with information about the parks and it's trails and non-trail hiking, it's a good book to pack for that vacation you are taking to the area. For day hikes, overnight hikes, or thru hikes of the area, this is a good resource.

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.

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.