Today's Featured Book:
by Bill Bryson
Genre: Nonfiction
Published: 1998
Page Count: 279 pages
Summary:
Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes—and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.
For a start there’s the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson’s acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America’s last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is a modern classic of travel literature.
Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.
A sign announced that this was no ordinary footpath but the celebrated Appalachian Trail. Running more than 2,100 miles along America’s eastern seaboard, through the serene and beckoning Appalachian Mountains, the AT is the granddaddy of long hikes. From Georgia to Maine, it wanders across fourteen states, through plump, comely hills whose very names—Blue Ridge, Smokies, Cumberlands, Green Mountains, White Mountains—seem an invitation to amble.
Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, p. 1. Kindle Edition.
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Then, with as much pride as if I had baked them myself, I brought out a little surprise—two packets of Hostess cupcakes.
Katz’s face lit up like the birthday boy in a Norman Rockwell painting.
“Oh, wow!”
“They didn’t have any Little Debbies,” I apologized.
“Hey,” he said. “Hey.” He was lost for greater eloquence. Katz loved cakes.
Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, p. 56. Kindle Edition.
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First review (1999): Bill Bryson. A middle-aged guy and a friend hike the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail...or, at least, 890 miles of it. Funny.
Second review (2011): Reread: Oh, how I love Bill Bryson. He's everything I look for in an author. A good writer. Brave, but not too much. Human. And funny. Most of all, funny.
So last week I reread A Walk in the Woods. I reread it slowly. It was one of those books you don't want to end. All along the way you are laughing. You just have to laugh at Bryson. He tries to do the hard thing, but it's...well, hard. And his companion, Katz, is equally human. Quintessential Americans.
So much fun.
Third review (2026): I brought this book along on our trip to Georgia last week. My goal was to walk part of the Appalachian Trail. The start of the trail is in Georgia, but the start is nine miles from a highway. That wasn't doable for me. Instead, I found a place where the trail (1) crossed a main road, and (2) there was a parking lot for my car.
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