Waterfalls of the Southern Appalachians

Reviewed by Dean Goss

This is the third edition of this book. I can't compare it against the second edition as that one still proves elusive, but it is an improvement over the first edition. The third edition covers over 150 waterfalls in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Like the fourth edition, it's an ambitious undertaking so there are hundreds of omissions, but it still portrays some of the best waterfalls the region has to offer. The overlap of photos from one edition to another is minimal, and I appreciated the opportunity to view other waterfalls.

The book is fairly well organized. It doesn't waste much time in introductory material or verbose preambles, you are into the waterfalls by page 2. The book is divided up into four geographic sections: Northeast Georgia, Western South Carolina, Western North Carolina, and The Great Smoky Mountains. In addition, each of the four sections are categorized into geographically similar subsections. The organization of the book is respectable.

The book does have some drawbacks. There is virtually no information beyond that which is associated with the waterfalls. Photographic advice is limited to a couple of basic paragraphs, and you'll find no appendices, no glossary, no history, and so forth. There aren't many photographs and those that are in the book are of average quality.

The Bottom Line: This book is primarily a guidebook that is composed of virtually nothing but waterfall information. I'd like to see better quality stock, perhaps more or better photos, some adjunct information, but the ultimate purpose of the book is to be a guidebook. It fulfills that purpose admirably. If you dedicated your weekends to waterfall pursuits, this book, as a checklist, would take a long time to complete.