Book Review: A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

Home in the US after living abroad for 20 years, Bill Bryson sets out to get to know his country again by hiking the nearly 2,200 mile long Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Joining him on this quest is an old acquaintance, Stephen Katz, who is completely unprepared for starting their hike in Georgia.

Bryson documents the highs and lows of their adventure in a funny and perceptive style. He also offers plenty of information about the trail. Everything from the trail's history and ecology to its modern day environmental threats.

Bryson has many fears about hiking and living in the woods which he shares freely. The biggest is bears and he devotes several pages to summarizing his research on various bear attacks in the woods.

The first thing I realized is that this isn't a "how to" guide for hiking the AT. It's a comical tale of one guy's journey mixed in with lots of great background on the trail and the country it covers. This book is a must read for anyone planning to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Bryson's very open with his opinions and observations about the trail. He talks about how it's maintained, which states have the best (and worst) trail maps and the impact of the federal government on the trail's usage and the environment. His conversational writing style keeps everything interesting and there's some really good stuff in here for anyone interested in the AT.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is one of those experiences where you know you're going to meet some interesting people. Bryson does a good job of describing the ones he encountered on the trail.

This book was fun to read and educational at the same time. I highly recommend A Walk In The Woods for anyone planning to hike the AT.

I'm looking forward to reading more books by Bill Bryson.