Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship (Tom Ryan)

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire's four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. It was an adventure of a lifetime, leading them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. At the heart of the amazing journey was the extraordinary relationship they shared, one that blurred the line between man and dog.  Following Atticus is an unforgettable true saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family, as one remarkable animal opens the eyes and heart of a tough-as-nails newspaperman to the world's beauty and its possibilities. 

Product Details: 

• Paperback: 276 pages 
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company (7 Aug. 2012) 
• Language: English 
• ISBN-10: 0061997110 
• ISBN-13: 978-0061997112 
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 1.7 x 20.3 cm 

Review: 

"Need your faith in humanity restored? Read this book. It's lovely to learn about our higher selves from an unlikely source like Atticus M. Finch." The Day (Connecticut)

"Heartwarming, surprisingly suspenseful. . . . Part adventure story, part memoir, but most important, a love story . . . [an] entertaining and joyous book."--Publishers Weekly    "Lyrical. . . . rivetingly portrayed . . . [a] touching chronicle." Kirkus Reviews   

"Exceptionally evocative writing and [an] engaging story . . . this is a book that can be read more than once. Inspirational and heart-warming." Library Journal 

"How can you go wrong with a cute little dog who braved the White Mountains' highest peaks time and again...over the ice, snow and sometimes deadly uncertainty of wild winter altitude in New Hampshire? Far more than just a typical man-and-his-dog account...Ryan and Atticus have delivered on all counts." Manchester Union Leader