Goodreads:: 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.

A man, a dog, and a whole lot of mountains. I'm thankful Atticus ended up with a journalist so we could all share in his story. ( )

Check out my review at: http://www.shannonsbookbag.blogspot.com/2012/06/following-atticus-ryan.html ( )

I usually wouldn't rate a non-fiction book as 5 stars, but I LOVED this book. I read it 6 months ago - it's still my favorite book I've read this year, and I still think about it at least once a week. It's haunting me! A truly touching story, made me laugh and cry multiple times. ( )

3.5 stars

The White Mountains in New Hampshire have 48 peaks over 4,000 feet. The author, Tom Ryan decided to raise money for cancer by hiking these peaks in the winter with his little miniature schnauzer, Atticus. This is their story.

I listened to the audio (read by the author). He does have an accent, which took my mind off what I was listening to occasionally to spell the word in my head (i.e. park = pawk), though mostly it wasn’t a big deal. (Oh, but for the life of me, I could not figure out the town he lived in (though that wasn’t the accent)! All I could hear was “Newb Report”; I looked it up and it was Newburyport. Say that fast (or even a normal speed!) and it sounds like Newb Report, which sounded like a very odd name for a town!) Anyway, I liked Atticus and they sure had a wonderful connection. The story just didn’t “wow” me, but it was enjoyable. ( )