Terra Incognita is the most comprehensive bibliography of sources related to the Great Smoky Mountains ever created. Compiled and edited by three librarians, this authoritative and meticulously researched work is an indispensable reference for scholars and students studying any aspect of the region’s past. Starting with the de Soto map of 1544, the earliest document that purports to describe anything about the Great Smoky Mountains, and continuing through 1934 with the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park—today the most visited national park in the United States—this volume catalogs books, periodical and journal articles, selected newspaper reports, government publications, dissertations, and theses published during that period. This bibliography treats the Great Smoky Mountain Region in western North Carolina and east Tennessee systematically and extensively in its full historic and social context. Prefatory material includes a timeline of the Great Smoky Mountains and a list of suggested readings on the era covered. The book is divided into thirteen thematic chapters, each featuring an introductory essay that discusses the nature and value of the materials in that section. Following each overview is an annotated bibliography that includes full citation information and a bibliographic description of each entry. Chapters cover the history of the area; the Cherokee in the Great Smoky Mountains; the national forest movement and the formation of the national park; life in the locality; Horace Kephart, perhaps the most important chronicler to document the mountains and their inhabitants; natural resources; early travel; music; literature; early exploration and science; maps; and recreation and tourism. Sure to become a standard resource on this rich and vital region, Terra Incognita is an essential acquisition for all academic and public libraries and a boundless resource for researchers and students of the region.

The outdoors come to life in this collection of stories, games, crafts, investigations, and hands-on activities meant to accompany excursions into the fields, forests, and wetlands of southern Appalachia. The region’s rich natural diversity is highlighted, from its low-elevation coves to its highland ridges and balds. Because the southern Appalachian Mountains provide diverse habitats for plants and animals, every visit presents a new adventure. With an emphasis on the importance of a good conservation ethic along with suggestions on how to get involved in community conservation efforts, explorers of all ages can learn about topics such as plants, animals, microscopic life, life after dark, and environmental awareness.

Grace McNicol’s lifelong delight in walking and hiking helped her achieve feats considered impossible by many. At the age of 62, she moved to Tennessee and began climbing Mount Le Conte, a 6,593-foot mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She overcame a broken back, two strokes, and other personal hardships to climb the mountain a record 244 times. This revised and expanded volume includes photos, diary entries, andGracie’s Wildflower Notebook, which contains entries compiled during the year she made her 200th climb. This inspirational biography chronicles the uplifting life and achievements of a remarkable woman.

This richly illustrated field guide serves as an introduction to the wildflowers and plant communities of the southern Appalachians and the rolling hills of the adjoining piedmont. Rather than organizing plants, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, by flower color or family characteristics, as is done in most guidebooks, botanist Tim Spira takes a holistic, ecological approach that enables the reader to identify and learn about plants in their natural communities. This approach, says Spira, better reflects the natural world, as plants, like other organisms, don't live in isolation; they coexist and interact in myriad ways. Full-color photo keys allow the reader to rapidly preview plants found within each of the 21 major plant communities described, and the illustrated species description for each of the 340 featured plants includes fascinating information about the ecology and natural history of each plant in its larger environment. With this new format, readers can see how the mountain and piedmont landscapes form a mosaic of plant communities that harbor particular groups of plants. The volume also includes a glossary, illustrations of plant structures, and descriptions of sites to visit. Whether you're a beginning naturalist or an expert botanist, this guidebook is a useful companion on field excursions and wildflower walks, as well as a valuable reference. Southern Gateways Guide is a registered trademark of the University of North Carolina Press

This comprehensive bibliography includes books written about or set in Appalachia from the 18th century to the present. Titles represent the entire region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission, including portions of 13 states stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi. The bibliography is arranged in alphabetical order by author, and each title is accompanied by an annotation, most of which include composite reviews and critical analyses of the work. All classic genres of children's literature are represented.