A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail | 
| Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Anchor
List Price: $7.99
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Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 2634
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 397
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307279464
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.40443
EAN: 9780307279460
ASIN: 0307279464
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
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Product Description
The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
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| Customer Reviews: Read 79 more reviews...
 It's not only funny, it's educational. March 19, 2007
Carolyn Rowe Hill (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
39 out of 42 found this review helpful
Bill Bryson has a great sense of humor and an excellent, precise way of expressing it. My husband had just had heart surgery when I started reading this book. I was concerned that my LOL while reading A Walk in the Woods might disturb him as I sat next to his hospital bed. However, on the other hand, I thought it might expedite the healing process. He told me later he heard me laughing and it made him feel better. So, there you go, Bill, your book is good for heart patients!!
Bill and buddy, Stephen Katz, the only person to take Bill up on the offer to join him as he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1997?, began their odyssey on March 9 (this just happened to be the day I began reading the book...2007). The laughs came early and continued throughout, though parts of the book are more history and information than comedy. I took notes in these sections.
Both Bryson and Katz were out of shape when they hit the AT, but Bill noticed his body slimming and becoming more svelte right away (one thing I looked for, but never found, was word on how the adventure affected Katz's weight and figure. I would've been interested in knowing that). The men hiked the AT in two segments and, incidentally, did not hike the entire trail, which they decided was okay. I agree. At any rate, they hiked a few weeks in pre- and early spring and again in the heat of August. While they were off the trail, Bryson took day trips to walk parts of the AT between where he and Katz left off and the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine they planned to hike in August. This book not only tells the tale of two men attempting to walk the 2,200 miles of the AT, but is full of history lessons, geological and geographical information, stories of lost/doomed hikers, and social intercourse (i.e., the more than rude, self-centered, and boorish hikers the boys meet on their next to last day on the trail the first time).
This book is a good companion so read it slowly, digest it thoroughly, and you will enjoy it immensely.
Carolyn Rowe Hill
Nature writing and a travelogue with "oomph"! August 18, 2007
Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada)
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
Perhaps it was a fit of angst dealing with his own personal version of a mid-life crisis that led Bill Bryson to tackle the challenge of hiking the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail! It was certainly a solid understanding of his own personality and clear recognition of his own physical and mental limitations that prompted him to invite his friend, Stephen Katz, an overweight and out of shape recovering alcoholic with an inordinate fondness for snack foods and cream soda to accompany him on this daunting challenge. The demands of the AT ultimately proved too much for Bryson and Katz who sensibly (and with an almost relieved sense of philosophical acceptance) decided to abandon the notion of a complete through hike. But the resulting story, drawn from Bryson's daily journal of the summer's efforts, is an overwhelming success and pure joy in the reading.
"A Walk in the Woods" is an extraordinary, entertaining travelogue on both the AT - the Appalachian Trail - and the people and places of small town America that dot the trail's path along the eastern seaboard from Georgia to Maine. At the same time, it is much, much more. Bryson is scathing in his political commentary and almost enraged criticism of the ongoing state of mismanagement and the sadly misguided policies of both the Parks and Forest Services of the US government. "A Walk in the Woods" is also a deeply moving introspective examination on the nature of friendship, family, perseverance, joy and despondency. As he and Katz amble along rock strewn trails dappled with sunlight broken by the leafy forest canopy, Bryson frequently, effortlessly and almost without our even noticing the change, wanders metaphorically off the main trail and onto a side path of lightweight but nonetheless informative and educational sidebars of nature writing on an amazingly wide variety of topics. Glaciation, bears, bugs, ecology, continental drift, hypothermia, hypoxia and weather are only a few examples of the topics which he elucidates for the lay reader with his clear, concise prose.
Then there is the humour! It is perhaps an understatement to say that, in this regard, Bryson has a rare gift. He has treated his readers to laughs originating in every imaginable corner of the vast world of humour - wry sardonic wit; biting satire; slapstick; self effacement; sarcasm and insults; fear; and even extended comedy sketches worthy of stage or television. His description of the astonishingly stupid and entirely self-absorbed fellow hiker Mary Ellen who has the annoying habit of constantly clearing her sinuses with a grating honk is definitely laugh-out-loud material.
Pure entertainment and enjoyment from first page to last. I believe Bill Bryson would consider it a compliment if I suggested that "A Walk in the Woods" is the first book I've ever read with a smile on my face during every single moment of the reading. Highly recommended - even if you've never spent a single night under nylon in the woods.
Paul Weiss
Laughing out loud while I'm riding the train April 7, 2007
Douglas R. Fries (Gainesville, VA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I'm about 2/3 of the way through this amazing book and have to let everyone know that you need to read this one. I have been reading it during my train commute, grinning from ear to ear, and cackling out loud every few minutes.
The book alternates between a hilarous telling of a lengthy hike along the Appalachian Trail by the author and his out-of-shape buddy Stephen, and a well-researched description of the AT's construction, history, & ecology. The stories of their hiking-gear research, the author's deathly fear of bears, and their run-ins with neurotic fellow hiker Mary Ellen had me in tears.
This book ties with "Catch 22" as the funniest I've ever read, just ahead of Palahniuk's "Lullaby".
Steven Katz is a comic genius December 31, 2006
Richard Cumming (blue state)
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
Bill Bryson is a great writer. His real genius in this book was choosing Steven Katz to go along. Together, they walked the Appalachian Trail. Well, actually, together they walked the southern portion then Katz vanished for a while and he joins back up with Bryson for the final leg of the trip in Maine. Funny thing, when Bryson is alone and Katz isn't around it isn't very funny. Bryson draws a portrait of his companion that is utterly charming.
Katz can't keep up with Bryson and Bill has to keep waiting for him. Katz gets tired of carrying a heavy pack so he throws away all the food (except the junk food) and so on. This book made Bill Bryson a multi-millionaire. Everything he writes from here on out is solid gold. I hope he is taking good care of his friend Katz. He deserves it.
Plenty of Humor but Also an Important Message July 14, 2007
Sheri in Reho (Rehoboth Beach, DE)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 only because I found the beginning part of the book (before they actually start hiking) to be slow and boring. Once they started the Trail, though, it was anything but boring. Not only were there constant laughs to be had and great stories of their adventures on the trail, but I am really thankful to Mr. Bryson for including so much of the environmental information that he did. It was really eye opening and incredibly sad what we are doing to our natural resources, and I think Mr. Bryson has found a brilliant way to use humor to share this information in a way that is not only accessible but enjoyable. Bravo, Bill!
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