A Walk In The Woods

My book club read A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson.  I've read other travel books by him including In A Sunburned Country which was about Australia.  He is a comedic writer.  One person in our group really disliked the book because it wasn't helpful to anyone who might read the book in preparation for actually walking the Appalachian trail.  I never thought of it as an outdoor guide book.  I thought of it as a comedy.  And it is a comedy.  Bryson makes fun of himself and his friend - the one and only friend who would agree to go on such a hike unprepared.  He also makes fun of some of the people he meets on the trail.  His friend, Stephen Katz, is woefully out of shape and not that bright.  Stephen makes the book.  Bryson ends up finishing the trail without Stephen and once Stephen leaves, the book isn't as funny.  I did learn that the book will come out as a movie this fall.  Although Bryson and his friend Stephen ares in their mid 40's in the book, they will be played by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte who, I believe, are in their 70's?  Both seem a tad old for this book but I'm still inclined to see it.  I mean, it's Robert Redford, right?  I've been into him ever since I saw "Jeremiah Johnson."  He's older but he's still got charisma.  Nick Nolte? I'm not so sure about him..  If you read this book as entertainment and not as an actual travel guide to hiking the Appalachian Trail, I think you might like it.  And by the way, there is a bear on the cover but they never do see a bear on the trail.