MDSection12
01-21-2013, 10:39
OK, so to be completely honest I kind of resent the 'I hiked the AT, now I can write a book' attitude that seems to be pretty common in the last decade or so. Hiking the AT seems like a great adventure for sure, but not one that we need a thousand books about... To me the thing that makes it so unique is that the trail itself isn't the focus it's the personal experiences that seem to vary so greatly from person to person. Because of that I just don't understand how so many books can be written on the subject; it seems to me they'd end up being more about the person writing than the trail.
With that said, I have not thru-hiked the AT and have only in the last year begun section hiking in my area. The more time I spend on the trail the more time I want to spend on the trail, and recently a thru has been added to my list of aspirations and seems to be moving towards the top. So now I'm thinking I'd like to read a book on the subject. I do not intend to start reading book after book about it though. I want to read one book, hopefully the AT book if one does exist. I am looking for something with a narrative, an account of one hikers thru, but at the same time I'd like it to be more informative about the trail rather than full of introspection on the writer.
So if you were only going to read one AT book, given the above, what would you pick?
With that said, I have not thru-hiked the AT and have only in the last year begun section hiking in my area. The more time I spend on the trail the more time I want to spend on the trail, and recently a thru has been added to my list of aspirations and seems to be moving towards the top. So now I'm thinking I'd like to read a book on the subject. I do not intend to start reading book after book about it though. I want to read one book, hopefully the AT book if one does exist. I am looking for something with a narrative, an account of one hikers thru, but at the same time I'd like it to be more informative about the trail rather than full of introspection on the writer.
So if you were only going to read one AT book, given the above, what would you pick?