Funny, I've been a big Bryson fan since The Mother Tongue. Loved the opening line in the US book, "I was born in Des Moines, somebody had to be" (so was I). I happened to be in NYC on the release date for A Walk in the Woods and waited in line at a bookstore across from Penn station to get it. Before I got to Washington, I decided I hated it. In his other books, he pokes fun, but clearly understands context and motivation. Looked forward to his doing that with us, but he ever got close, just looked from a distance and snickered. And yeah, Daisy, got lazy; both as a hiker and as a writer. He went for really cheap laughs. best, jcp