Review: A Walk in the Woods

If I could be anything in the world, I would be a skinny, talented chef with extremely thick hair and a good wardrobe. HOWEVER, since the world already has a Giada di Laurentis, my second dream career would be an extremely successful travel writer. Alas, the world already has a Bill Bryson as well. So, I guess I will have to continue my semi-successful career as a training program manager for a large retail company. Boo.

If you have a love for travel, or a love for humor, you must simply run to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of a Bill Bryson book. My personal favorite thus far is In a Sunburned Country, but I truly enjoyed A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail as well.

In this book, Bryson and his college friend Katz, both middle-aged and out of shape, endeavor to hike the Appalachian Trail, which begins in Georgia and culminates in Maine.

The moral of most Bryson novels are, as the old saying goes, “it’s about the journey, not the destination.” The account of his Bryson’s actual hike takes a backseat to the cast of characters he encounters along the AT trail, as well as his newfound friendship with Katz, whom he hasn’t seen in more than 20 years. My favorite portions of the books were the passages of he and Katz attempting to get along and agree over how many Snickers bars to carry in their packs.

That’s not to say that the destination doesn’t feature heavily into the story. Bryson’s excellent research into the national parks services and conservancy is heavily featured in the book as well. We can be left with no doubt Bryson’s poor opinion about the shocking lack of governance in most of the major parks on the East coast.

I truly enjoyed about 80 percent of this book, but I will admit that the 20 percent of the book was a bit slow. Katz and Bryson decided not the hike the AT in entirely and each went their separate ways for a month or two. During this time, Bryson hiked through Pennsylvania on his own. During these stretches, the book dragged a bit, which suggests to me that Bryson didn’t realize that the strength of this book lies in his unusual relationship with Katz.

I’m a huge fan of walking in general and hiking in particular, and I’ve never had the chance to see any of the national parks on the East Coast. My interest in the Smoky Mountain and Shenandoah national parks has been piqued by this book. I highly recommend this book for a quick read, especially if you are interested in travel writing.