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Re: [at-l] Walking in the South



At 09:11 PM 11/15/1999 -0500, Coosa wrote:
>Bryson had a very real phobia about the South.


I didn't read that into the book at all. He uses common stereotypes and 
images as a comic tool, much as any writer. The images "straight out of 
Deliverance" I didn't find, at least not as a slam on Georgians. I thought 
he was poking fun at himself and his ill-prepared hiking buddy, as neither 
was comfortable or prepared for most of the Georgia experience. Katz was a 
loser, and Bryson accurately depicts him. I never had the impression that 
either had heard of LNT, much less claimed to practice it.

The book is about a couple of section hikers who learned much about 
themselves as well as the trail. They have backpacked a great deal more 
than many of us. It isn't the best journal I've read (And Then the Hail 
Came), but it was an excellent introduction for many who think I am nuts to 
go on a long walk.

Heck, both of my daughters were born in Alabama, an they each know how to 
read and laugh. Lighten up.

OrangeBug
Atlanta, GA
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