Dear Maintaining-Club Leaders:

 

I’m writing to bring to your attention the upcoming publication of a landmark book about our work, The Appalachian Trail: Celebrating America’s Hiking Trail, as part of our observation of the Trail’s 75th anniversary this summer.  Copublished with Rizzoli International, a leader in high-end illustrated books, it won’t be be on store shelves September 25 but has already been rated in the top 10 of fall travel titles by “Publishers Weekly.”

 

This 332-page hard-cover book, with the foreword written by Bill Bryson at our request, combines more than 300 stunning current images from all parts of the Trail with a survey history of the Trailundefinedfrom Benton MacKaye’s imaginings in 1921 to as recently as this January, as well as a brief essay on what climate change might mean for the A.T.  Included are images of numerous artifacts from the early years and a number of photographs from the scrapbooks of Myron Avery and others that have never been published.  The hiking experience is covered, but the point of the book is the untold story of building, protecting, and managing “the people’s path” for the people.

 

Contact information for all clubs is included in the appendix, since we hope readers will become involved not only nationally but locally.  A reproduction of the cover is attached, with some further information.

 

Clubs with active sales sites of their own might wish to purchase copies from us for resale.  They and others might want to buy a few as gifts for volunteers being honored at year-end occasions or for other purposes.  Also, we hope you can find ways to bring this book to the attention of your members (and local bookstores!); individual preorders are being taken now at www.atctrailstore.org.

 

As always, clubs are able to purchase from us at a 40 percent discount off the retail price ($50 in this case).  If you are able to preorder before the Trail’s 75th-anniversary date of August 14, we will make that discount 43 percent for this title.  (Higher discounts are available for orders of more than 100.)  All orders should be placed through our sales manager, Renee Rodgers, at (888) 287-8673 or rrodgers@appalachiantrail.org.  We expect to be able to start shipping preorders by September 20.

 

And, thanks for all your fine work!

 

     Mark

 

 

Mark Wenger

Executive Director

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

P.O. Box 807 | 799 Washington Street

Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807

Phone: 304.535.2200 x116

Fax: 304.535.2667

mwenger@appalachiantrail.org

www.appalachiantrail.org