Touring the Backroads of North and South Georgia

I bought this book two years ago, and my wife and I didn't actually use it until this weekend. We've really been missing out. The book contains 15 driving tours: 1) Northwest Georgia (Chicamauga to Rome) 2) Native American Tour (Fort Mountain, Chatsworth, New Echota, Etowah Indian Mounds) 3) N. Georgia Mountains Tour (Cleveland, Dahlonega, Dawsonville, Ellijay, Helen) 4) Northeast Georgia Tour (Hartwell, Toccoa, Clayton) 5) Fort Yargo to Tucker's Ferry (Winder, Jefferson, Commerce, Danielsville, Elberton) 6) Classic South (Oxford, Covington, Madison, Eatonton, Greensboro, Washington) 7) Plantations (LaGrange, Pine Mountain, Warm Springs, Greenville, Senoia, Newnan) 8) Middle Georgia Ramble (Jackson, Monticello, Gray, Thomaston, Barnesville) 9) Georgia Capitals Drive (Milledgeville, Sandersville, Louisville, Waynesboro) 10) East Central Ramble (Metter, Millen, Sylvania, Statesboro) 11) Southwest Georgia Ramble (Cuthbert, Lumpkin, Fort Gaines, Blakely) 12) Middle Georgia Farmland (Perry, Marshallville, Americas, Vienna) 13) Altamaha River Loop (Claxton, Reidsville, Baxley, Jesup, Hinesville) 14) Wire Grass Tour (Ashburn, Fitzgerald, Douglas, Alma) 15) South Georgia (Bainbridge, Cairo, Ochlocknee, Thomasville, Valdosta) This weekend we took two tours: 6 and 5 (we did them in that order, but did 5 in reverse since we drove north from Washington to Elberton). Even though the book was published in 1997, we only found one driving instruction that was no longer correct (and it was easy to figure out). The driving instructions were very accurate, and the information about the various cities and the houses, graves, and people were very interesting. I've lived in Georgia all of my life and I've never been to a Revolutionary War battlefield within the state before- but the tour took us to the Kettle Creek battleground, something I'd never heard of before. Rather than just give you small bits of information about each stop of interest and lots of information about hotels, restaurants, etc., this book gives you lots of information about what you're seeing and lets you figure out where to eat and sleep on your own (which is best- that sort of information changes frequently anyway). The only criticism we have about the book is that the driving instructions are blended in with the narrative. We got around that with the second tour by going through ahead of time and underlining all of the driving instructions so they'd stand out. Perhaps in future editions this could be set off to the side on boxes so it's easy to find. All in all, if you're looking for interesting tours of parts of Georgia you probably haven't seen before and won't find in other guidebooks (which spend their time talking about touristy things like Six Flags and Zoo Atlanta), this is the book for you.

Bought this as a gift for my father who recently remodeled an old Austin Healy. He thought this book was great!

Frank and Victoria Logue are prolific writers. Their work covers hiking, camping and outdoor adventures in Georgia so this book is a natural extension of that work. Touring the Backroads covers the entire state (don't be misled by the title). The tours are Northwest Georgia Drive, Native American Tour, North Georgia Mountain Tour, Northeast Georgia Tour, Fort Yargo to Tucker's Ferry, Classic South, Plantation, Middle Georgia Ramble, Georgia Capitals Drive, East Georgia Ramble, Southwest Georgia Ramble, Middle Georgia Farmland, Altamaha River Loop, Wire Grass, and South Georgia. Our favorites: Georgia Capitals, Georgia Mountains (covers the Georgia Gold Rush), Northwest Georgia (takes you from the Tennessee State line to Rome), and the Southwest Georgia Ramble (highlights the Kolomaki Mounds and Providence Canyon, two underused state parks). The Native American Tour covers the Etowah Indian Mounds, the first capital of the Cherokee Nation at New Echota (now a Georgia State Park) and a wall built by Indians that pre-dated the Moundbuilders. One of the things I like about this book is that Frank and Victoria don't assume you know esoteric facts about Georgia's history. They take you through the whole story, telling what you need to know to appreciate the stop.

I am a librarian reviewing this book for our school library which we purchased. Like the backroads, at first glance one might think there's nothing much there. Eventhough the photos are small and not color, this book makes up for it with surprisingly rich content. I gave it 5 stars for the content alone. The history and facts about this my home region were quite impressive. I only wanted the tour to slow down and concentrate more on some of the individual topics, but alas when you're on tour you only get a few moments before moving on. I've learned some things I did not know. The style of writing is intelligent and very readable. The research level is substantial in order to have uncovered these facts, that as a resident here in the backroads I know were not easy to come by. If you take a tour of any of these areas, take this book along because you won't find this information readily available aside from long hours of historical research. Facts about the history of growing peaches in Georgia along with recipes for peach cobbler and pecan pie are especially nice. Printed on alkaline paper, I only wish it was hardback.

I bought this book for the driving tours and I loved the one drive I have taken so far. But, I really enjoy the delightful stories that fill this book. It has the most amazing array of colorful anecdotes from Georgia history. It is a wonderful armchair book and an even better driving guide. I'm looking forward to doing more of the drives.