About this item
The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & the Western North Carolina Mountains is the highly acclaimed best-selling regional guidebook to Asheville and vast mountain region of North Carolina. In print since 1998, this latest up-to-date edition written by a local author Lee James Pantas is a wonderful resource for vacation or relocation planning, and will pay for itself in both time and money. An easy-to-use, superbly indexed 494 page-guide that covers every aspect of Asheville as well as in-depth coverage of all of the other 70 cities and towns, from the foothills to the highest peaks, including Boone, Hendersonville, Hickory, Lenoir, Morganton and Waynesville. Exquisitely illustrated with over 100 original pen & ink illustrations by the artist author, the Ultimate Guide is the only book available that presents all of the 250 attractions in the mountains, from tiny historical museums and craft galleries to blockbuster attractions, including Biltmore Estate, the Cherokee Indian Reservation, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
About the Author
Lee James Pantas, originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, has lived in Fairview, North Carolina since 1989. He has a Master's degree in Ecology from the University of Vermont, and has worked as a research scientist, military officer, lecturer, parapsychologist, marketing director, realtor, painter and illustrator in Vermont, Georgia, Korea, Brazil, Colorado, Connecticut and North Carolina. He is the author and illustrator of two books, "The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & the Western North Carolina Mountains" and "Wild & Furry Animals of the Southern Appalachian Mountains". Mr. Pantas is also known for his elegant, highly detailed pen & ink drawings, and imaginative visionary and fantasy paintings. His work has been exhibited in New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and locally in Blue Spiral 1, Broadway Arts and Seven Sisters Gallery, among others, and is found in many private and public collections. He has recently completed a ten-year project of fantasy coral reef paintings (Liza's Reef) aimed at raising awareness of the environmental issues facing our oceans. He is also well known as a track & field coach for AC Reynolds HS in Asheville NC.
