No. No, no no. No. This book isn't as good as previous Bryson books. His "Walk in the Woods" was where I think things started to go wrong... there's too much flannel and repetition, and too little of what makes Bryson great - instant characters and descriptions of the places that he goes to. It's even three journeys, not one, so it's not even as if it's a single journey. And he makes the cardinal sin of writing about himself as if he's an author... Shame. I'll think much harder about buying a new Bryson in future - at least, a travel book from him.