A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

As may be clear, I was sufficiently enchanted Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything that I immediately went out a bought a few of his other books and moved them to the top of the queue.

A Walk in the Woods had been recommended to me by my old friend Kitty in Iowa, so I read it next.

It’s a delightfully good humored walk along the Appalachian Trail with Bryon and an old highschool friend of his. Along the way, you get a lot of history of Appalachia, a lot of light forestology, and a lot of Bryson’s cheer and self-deprecating sense of humor.

This book is delightful, though nowhere near as impressive in scope or depth as A Short History. This one is exactly what the title indicates: A Walk in the Woods with Bill Bryson. But it definitely leaves one with a profound respect for the trails of North America, and a strong desire to go backpacking.