This in not the kind of book I would usually choose to read, but a friend recommended it and after the first page or two I was hooked. It is Bill Brysons' account of his attempt to walk the famous Appalachian trail, a hiker's paradise (or not) that runs north to south through the Eastern USA.
There are four very interesting elements to this book. From least to most captivating, firstly, it is a diatribe against the intervention of man in the wilderness. I have never taken kindly to the rants of tree huggers and greens and there is some of that in the book. It is well intentioned but gets tiresome.
Secondly, it contains some fascinating history of the trail itself and the counties and states that it meanders through. This was quite absorbing in places and I learned some very interesting things about these areas. For example, in the late 1800's, 70 % of the country through which the trail goes was farmland. Today, 70% of it is wilderness! You have to read the book to understand how that happened.
The third aspect of the book is the unusual friendship that developed between the author and his unlikely travel mate. The twists and turns are very humorous and at times heart warming.
The very best parts of the book, and they are in abundance, are the adventures and experiences the author had, and the people he met as he was hiking the trail. Always interesting and 'laugh out loud' funny, I could not wait to get to the next episode.
The next time I am out on the trail, walking through the woods, I will no doubt be recalling the antics and adventures of the Appalachian trail story and will be a bit sad that I am not there. Having said that, I am positive that such an adventure can be more than duplicated on our own trails here on the West Coast.
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