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Bryson has a great wit and a warm touch which make this a wonderful story of delightfully imperfect characters set against a background of the AT. I was slightly disappointed by his and Katz's decision to abandon their initial plan to thru-hike, but, then I realize that Life is an endless series of compromises, high hopes and disappointments. After reading their packing list in the opening chapters, it is amazing that these unlikely adventurers managed to trod over 870 miles without a fatality.

I have to disagree strongly with the reviewer who took issue with the final sentence of the book. To me, its the reviewer's "Ready, Set, Achieve" mentality where only the goal or the bottom line is worthy of consideration that sometimes makes American culture such a Wasteland. It IS the journey, after all, not the destination that really counts.

There are enough macho-man blood and guts heroic adventure books out there. It's nice to read an adventure tale written by the rest of us.

*A Walk in the Woods* was my first Bill Bryson, and I am sure it won't be my last. My husband and I consider ourselves (extremely) amateur hikers, having explored some of the Blue Ridge Mountains over the past few years. We hope to eventually hike sections of the Appalachian Trail, and I thought it would be fun to acquaint myself with it through Bryson's experience.

After living in England for twenty years, Bryson and his family moved to New Hampshire. Bryson decided that he'd also reacquaint himself with America by hiking the AT. After reading up on the many potential hazards of such a feat (hungry and angry bears, lions, and even a rampant moose or two), he invited everyone he'd ever met to join him on the hike. Stephen Katz, an overweight and recovering alcoholic finally took him up on the offer. Once on the trip, Katz and Bryson meet a number of interesting characters and brave almost every type of weather event.

In addition to Bryson's hiking experiences, he offers various historical anecdotes ranging from the creation of the AT, his views on conservation and the government's role, and even local history of towns he passed through. Readers won't have a minute to be bored and will usually be giggling at Bryson and Katz's adventure.

Though his book isn't the best book I've read in a while, it was entertaining and did make me walk to start hiking for often. The parts a appreciated most however dealt with the US Forest Service, logging, road building, acid rain, and hunting owls, lions, and bears for bounties. He cites some good sources for information on the destruction of the forests of North America, but fails to deal with the destruction of the planet as a global phenomenon. He also fails to connect the problem with choices being made by people--especially people just like him. While I learned something from his story, there is much more to be said about the violence of our culture and the demise of the natural world.