Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

A Walk in the Woods is a travel narrative that weaves history, ecology, economics, sociology, and biology throughout author Bill Bryson's ambitious pursuit of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Bryson is fast becoming one of my favorite non-fiction authors for his friendly optimistic personality and his prodigious use of words like 'agreeable' and 'splendid' and 'fetching'.

'It was called Bald Mountain Stream, but it was a river -broad, lively, strewn with boulders. It was exceedingly fetching- it glittered with dancing spangles in the early morning sun and was gorgeously clear . . . ' pg 355

3 comments:

Janna said...

I LOVE this book. Love it! Have read it a couple of times. I think it's my favorite adventure/travelogue book. His sense of humor is terrific, plus I really enjoy hiking.

Trish said...

I really like hiking too and he sounds like he would be such a funny companion.

I now have an APB out for any and all other Bryson books!

oreneta said...

This is the book of his that I liked least, by a lot, I find him pretty uneven. If you liked this though, I imagine you'd like the others too.