Book Review - A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

One should not judge a book by its cover. However, literally speaking, you can certainly anticipate a good read when the author starts off as I come from Des Moines. Someone had to. Bill Bryson did just that and his A Walk in the Woods was indeed a good read. For someone who is outdoorsy, this book would just add fuel to your passion if trekking and hiking are the kind of hobbies you pet. But, the book would hopelessly fail to be categorized as a standard travelogue because its much more than that. The Sunday Times wouldn’t go throwing away their well amassed reputation by quoting Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” as a seriously funny book because it is a seriously funny book! 

For a space constraint summary, this book could be just about Bryson’s walk through the Appalachian Trail which is the longest continuous footpath in the world stretching approximately 2200 miles on the East Coast of United States from Georgia to Maine. But, such a summary will not be able to justify Bryson’s experiences with the perils inhabiting the wilderness, the arresting beauty of the nature, the challenges from an irrational hike-companion, the economic affordability, the unpredictable weather, the unreliable map, the amusing fellow hikers on the trail and much more which has been captured in the book.  

A Walk in the Woods would definitely pass as a guide for things to pack and do’s and do not’s in a trail. It educated me amongst much other learnings, the difference between thru hikers and section hikers. But, what separates the book from a mere travelogue is the regular dose of accurately timed humor. It is almost as if the author would realize the monotony of some essentially elongated description and catch the reader off guard with a sudden shot of wit. 

And to the few who perpetually loves to dig deep into the matter to extract some kind of invaluable lesson, Bryson has catered to them as well. A lifetime ambition to not die outdoors tethered by his undeterred psychological and physical endurance amidst frequent impediments encountered in the trail packs a message they can carry back home from this read. 

I was yet to see the last 50 odd pages of the book but just couldn’t help distracting myself to some extensive search online and ending up cajoling and coercing my friends to accompany me for a hike early next year hopefully in the foothills of the Himalayas. Clearly, I was adventurously inspired by Bryson. But what one takes from the book is - to each his own!