Have you ever wondered where was the Appalachian Trail first put on the ground? Who did it and why there? Where and why was it moved? Which groups did all that as volunteers, and did they get along, region to region? How did it become a federally protected national scenic trail? Who secured the money to buy the land under and around it? In From Dream to Reality, career historian Tom Johnson–himself a hiker, trail-club official, and trail maintainer–takes you step by step toward the answers to those and many more questions about the first eight decades of the Appalachian Trail project, a true American icon. Heavily illustrated with archival photographs and maps, many never before published, From Dream to Reality focuses on the volunteers from all walks of life who made the trail and maintain its experiences today jointly with the leadership of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and its federal and state partners.