Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors, as I’ve read the majority of his books. Written in 1998, this book also was not a disappointment. It’s a travelogue following Bryson and his out of shape friend, Stephen Katz, as they attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. Learning about the history of the trail on their adventure, they returned from their hike changed men with new knowledge of the wilderness and friendship. Like Bryson’s other books, A Walk in the Woods is full of plenty of humorous observations, interspersed with more serious discussions of the trail’s history and people, the environment, and the natural sciences. It provides such useful information as what to do if one encounters a bear while in the woods or camping, and which trees along the trail are endangered or noteworthy. Bryson is also an author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, which tells the story of our Earth and everything on it–from particle physics to plate tectonics, cloud formations to bacteria–in such a way that afterwards the reader is nearly prepared to pass a comprehensive PhD exam.