Book #3: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
My parents lent us this book over a year ago, and I finally picked it up a week or so ago. A summary is probably unnecessary -- I'm probably one of the last people in America to read this and am almost certainly the last person in the conservation world -- but I'll make it quick. A Walk in the Woods is the story of Bill Bryson's journey along the Appalachian Trail, which stretches somewhere around 2,200 miles (no one is exactly sure) from Georgia to Maine. In addition to chronicling his hiking adventures along the trail, which include an old friend named Katz for much of the journey, Bryson writes about the history of the trail and places along its route. There are several that I'd really like to see, especially an abandoned mining town in PA where an underground fire has burned for more than 30 years, though I recognize that visiting is probably a bad idea.
Bryson is a brilliant writer and this is an amazing book - beautiful, funny, honest, and engrossing. I was sorry to see it end, and I definitely want to read more of his books.
Bryson is a brilliant writer and this is an amazing book - beautiful, funny, honest, and engrossing. I was sorry to see it end, and I definitely want to read more of his books.