I read an article that came out in Outside magazine, which was apparently a chapter of the book. At the time I thought it was amusing, but not overly so. I did, however, laugh out loud at the letter to the editor praising the article the following month, asking for more from that author - from one Bill Bryson, and of course written in his unmistakeable style.

Then one day my BF got the book on tape of "A Walk in the Woods", and I started listening to it while driving. I have never looked forward to my commutes so much in my life. It's lucky that I didn't cause an accident, driving while laughing uncontrollably with tears rolling down my face! Somehow hearing Bryson's voice reading the book made all the difference to me. Since that time I have read every book of his I can get my hands on - he's enormously entertaining.

I agree with Bearpaw that much of Bryson's humor is based on (over)dramatization - but whose isn't? I particularly recommend "In a Sunburned Country", "I'm a Stranger Here Myself", "The Lost Continent", and "The Mother Tongue" (as an English major, you might really appreciate that one).
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dk