Boy. He followed through. About two weeks ago I got a package in my mailbox with a nice surprise inside; it was a copy of the finished book. It's entitled,
Backroads & Byways of Georgia. Drives, Daytrips and Weekend Excursions.
And it's a beautiful book.
Rather than me trying to re-explain it I'm including the press release here:
Backroads And Byways of Georgia
An Off-The-Beaten-Path Guide to the Peach State
Photographer and author Dave Jenkins spent the better part of a year crisscrossing Georgia for more than 10,000 miles, exploring the nooks and crannies of the Peach State. He visited old mills, covered bridges (almost every one in the state), courthouses, historic houses and old churches without number, and whatever else caught his fancy. And then he organized it all into 15 tours covering various parts of the state, and wrote it up in a book appropriately titled, Backroads and Byways of Georgia.
Ride the historic Atlantic coast from Savannah to St. Mary's, ramble the Appalachian northwest, cruise the broad plains of the southwest, or roam the Blue Ridge Mountains of the northeast. Each tour is carefully mapped out with precise driving directions and information about points of interest. Even explore a bit on your own if you like, because there's something new to discover everywhere you look: the historic, the quirky and offbeat, the strange and unusual, and abundant beauty.
More that 200 color photographs make Backroads and Byways of Georgia a visual treat, whether you're in your car of your armchair. And if you're traveling in fact, rather than fancy, the book equips you with itineraries for trips of differing durations and in different seasons plus information about comfortable accommodations, great food, and good shopping too.
David B. Jenkins is a photographer and writer whose previous books include Georgia: A Backroads Portrait and the best-selling Rock City Barns: A Passing Era, which won the Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal. His domain is the old, the odd, and the ordinary; the beautiful, the abandoned, and the about to vanish away. He is a visual historian of mid-20th-century America and a recorder of the interface between man and nature; a keeper of vanishing ways of life.
He and his wife live on a small farm in the Northwest Georgia mountains.
The book is published by Countryman Press, it is priced at $19.95 and is available wherever books are sold. Signed copies are available directly from the author at 706-539-2114 or e-mail dbjphoto@gmail.com
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Here's my review: Dave sent along a book that made me want to take the rest of the year off and see his home state. His writing is clean, welcoming and direct. His photography did a great job showing the character and personality of the many locations he visited. If I were a Georgian this book would be my travel bible. Not just the site but the commentaries about travel, restaurants, interesting asides and the road stories.
This is not a flimsy book tossed together quickly. It is well researched, complete and it earns a privileged place in the pantheon of regional travel guides; and it does so while also being a printed witness to part of our national history.
While the book is also available as a Kindle book I would suggest that folks get the paperback. It's a 6x9 so it's easy to handle and it's one I'd want to carry with me as I explored Georgia.
Congratulations are in order! Way to go Dave Jenkins !!!!
Here's hoping the Visual Science Lab readers are enthusiastic about supporting one of their own. Head over to Amazon and grab yourself a platinum level guide to traveling through Georgia.
4 comments:
Mr. Jenkins,
I am curious to know how you came up with the idea for the book. Would you share your process with us?
Thanks, Charlie.
Charlie, call me Dave, please!
I can't take any credit for the idea. I had previously created a coffee-table book titled "Georgia: A Backroads Portrait." You can see it here on the Blurb.com site: http://www.blurb.com/b/4973943-georgia-a-backroads-portrait. It's all photos interspersed with brief essays.
I had several hard copies printed by Blurb to have something to show publishers. One publisher I sent it to was Countryman Press, a division of W.W.Norton of New York. The editor wrote me back that they were no longer doing coffee-table books, but that they were doing a series of "Backroads and Byways" books about various states and would I like to do one about Georgia?
After some thought and some consultation (with Kirk and with my oldest son, who also is an author) I decided to take on the project. I hope to do one on Tennessee next.
If you're interested in doing such a book, I must warn you that it is difficult and time-consuming and does not pay much for the effort involved. Do not attempt such a book on speculation -- get a firm commitment and an advance from a publisher. I can put you in touch with the editors at Countryman if you would like to explore the possibilities.
Dave, in my experience just about everyone would like to do a book. Very few getting around to pitching one and, according to my publisher for every ten people they send an advance to one actually follows all the way through and makes a book. Making a good one is even harder. Your book is in that category! Thanks for sharing your process. Thanks for hanging out at the Visual Science Lab !!!
Hi Dave,
I sure hope you see this. I'm working on seeing what Rock City barns remain based on your work, Brent Moore's work and the old Ohio Barns site. I'd love to pick your brain and show you what I've come up with.
Kirk, if you see this and can relay this to Dave, I would be forever grateful.
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