Tom Layton

Of the 13 million visitors who annually flock to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, fewer than one in a thousand spend a night at the LeConte Lodge. Continuing over 100 years of service, Eastern America's highest lodge still operates with a waiting list, thriving so far off the grid that laundry is transported by llamas and food is ferried in by helicopter. Visitors must brave one of six trails to the Lodge's entrance, the shortest of which is five miles. Despite its remote location in Tennessee, LeConte Lodge remains a prominent tourist destination as it celebrates its centennial. Written by two journalists who have been making the trek for decades, this book reveals a history that predates the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The book features stories that contextualize the Lodge's development, from the log bunkhouse that marked the property in the 1920s to the flourishing Lodge there today. It also studies the history of Le Cont Mountain, the peak that houses the Lodge and shares its name.

'We had a vision of Locarno Grove as this idyllic place where people lounged around in hammocks drinking cocktails out of coconut shells and listening to the waves lapping against the fine white sand...' The shy and quiet son of a rabble-rousing comedian. A talented but struggling veteran of the pub rock scene and the rowdy college circuit. Josie and Sam join forces as Locarno Grove - two singer-songwriters with a shared dream and a single vision. Nobody said it would be easy. Their mentor - no stranger to the dark side of the business - told them 'All it takes to make it is everything you've got.' After a few lucky breaks and a tragic accident that shakes the world, Locarno Grove are sitting pretty at the top of the heap... but success doesn't come cheap. TOM LAYTON follows his sparkling debut, The Land of Make Believe ('Brilliant and entertaining' - David Gersztyn, Bitter Sweet Alley) with the witty, scathing, occasionally shocking, but essentially affectionate tale of two musical misfits who unexpectedly catch a wave of public interest... and somehow live to tell the tale.