A Season on the Appalachian Trail: An Ameican Odyssey, 2nd

by Lynn Setzer

Release Date: 01 June, 2001

Edition: Paperback

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Poorly written and disingenuous look at trail life

This is a poor entry into the Appalachian Trail community library of books. Setzer knows little, if anything, about hiking or thru hiking in particular. The glaring weaknesses show, all too plainly. If you're planning on lacing up and hitting the trail, I don't recommend you buy this book. Walking from Springer Mountain to Katahdin is a joyous, painful, exhilerating and life-changing experience. Setzer never did it and doesn't beging to comprehend what it all entails. The hubris is notable, the writing ability almost nil. Mueser's book remains the best AT thru hikers guide.

--------David, AT thru hiker, 1997

Dismal, plodding and boring

I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, though in sections, over 3 years, so I do know something about the experience. This book was a crashing bore and I trust most of you would agree with me. Setzer writes with an amateurish, torturous manner which befits a schoolboy and not a published author. He knows little, if anything, about the AT because he never hiked it himself. He interviewed people who did and writes of their experiences with a detatched air which ultimately infuriates and insults the reader. Consult Coplin's "Wild Bird Song" for a truly inspiring read. This is dismal droning.