[at-l] Bryson's Book

[rafe.bustin@verizon.net (Raphael Bustin)]

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[Kelly:]
> > 4. His book was not intended to be "a guide to the "AT."



[RocksNRoots:]
>     ***    No, actually it was deliberately tongue in cheek. It was a goof on
>the macho-dom of AT hiking that few detected. A spoof of an icon. One insight
>that really never gets covered anywhere else was the comic magnifying of
>personal quirks and short tempered nerves when hiking with a partner.
>Delivering this on a comic level made it more effective, and anybody who has
>hiked or camped would recognize it and laugh (Katz)...



I think RnR makes a great point here, though he would be wrong
to think that a few of us didn't "get it" right away.

Think about all the fine, "serious" books about the AT, by thru-hikers,
that existed before Bryson's came along.  Then ask yourself, why
did this one book become popular, when the others never gained
more than a handful of readers.

Personally, I hold Bryson in high regard because he didn't try
to cover up or gloss over the many unpleasant, irrational, and
largely unmentioned aspects of long-distance hiking.



rafe b.
aka terrapin
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