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A review by okevamae
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
4.0
I hate to dock this a star, I really do, but it hasn't aged especially well in some ways. When I first read this book (Goodreads says 12 years ago but I feel like it was longer) the fatphobia was annoying but kind of rolled off my back because it was so ubiquitous in the 90s, when this was written, and only slightly less so in the late 00s/early 10s, when I read it for the first time. But these days we live in a world where fatphobia gets called out, and rightfully so.
It's still a fascinating history/travelogue, though, written by a funny and compelling author. I googled a few things along the way to see how things have changed since 1998. For example, as of 2020 only 5 people still live in Centralia, PA, and the grassy balds Bryson was so concerned about disappearing still exist. I'd be very curious to read an update that discusses how the AT has changed since this book was published 26 years ago.
It's still a fascinating history/travelogue, though, written by a funny and compelling author. I googled a few things along the way to see how things have changed since 1998. For example, as of 2020 only 5 people still live in Centralia, PA, and the grassy balds Bryson was so concerned about disappearing still exist. I'd be very curious to read an update that discusses how the AT has changed since this book was published 26 years ago.