Customer Reviews

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America Along the Appalachian Trail

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Hiking is probably my favorite non-professional activity. If I could, I would probably go on a long hike every single day. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I am way too busy with my other personal and professional responsibilities, and where I live there aren't that many good hiking opportunities. So I cherish all the opportunities that I get to go on the long hikes, and sometimes when I am feeling more ambitious I fantasize about going on one of the really long trails, such as the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and of course the Appalachian trail. At this point going on any one of these trails for a "thru hike" (i.e. from one end of the trail to the other in a single hike) seems highly unlikely, so I was really happy to read "A Walk in the Woods" for a visceral enjoyment of following Bill Bryson along the Appalachian Trail.

"A Walk in the Woods" is in many respects vintage Bryson - funny, irreverent, informative, sprinkled with a heavy dose of personal experiences. Many people consider this to be his best, or at least most entertaining, book. The narrative, just like the trail itself, is linear. Bryson and his companion started the trek at the southern end of the trail in March, hoping to finish it in Maine before the really cold winter weather set in. Even seasoned hikers would probably encounter many hardships and setbacks on a hike of this magnitude, and people like Bryson who are self-admittedly not in the best of physical shapes would have a particularly hard time, at least in the initial stages of the journey. Indeed, the slow acclimatization to the trail and the increasing realization of the sheer enormity of such an undertaking provide much of the impetus behind the narrative in this book. Bryson is a masterful storyteller, and he has a particular knack for describing and capturing the people and their various personal foibles. This turns out to be one of the most charming aspects of this book. Even though Appalachian Trail goes through thousands of miles of largely pristine wilderness, one is bound to encounter many colorful characters at various stages of the journey.

This is a very charming and well-written book, and weather you are a big fan of Bryson's writings or are an avid outdoors enthusiast you'll find many aspects of this book to be exceptionally interesting and entertaining.

This book was a fun read. It also had some interesting facts about the Appalachian Trail that was eye-opening for me. I did not know too much about the trail before (except to say that I had hiked just a bit of it for awhile) but learned to love the mere thought of its existence. Enjoy the chuckles as you read about one of the purest treasures of America.

Loved this book, have read other Bryson books, and this one is the best by far...veryyy informative but not to the point of being boring and dry..

A brief history of my acquaintance with this book is in order, I think ...

I read two of Bryson's books (Mother Tongue and A Short History of Nearly Everything, Illustrated Edition) and decided I wanted to read more of this author. I ordered from Amazon, and this was one of the four Bryson titles I selected. Eventually, and for no other reason than I expected that this book would be the best, I decided to save 'A Walk in the Woods' for last. Well, as it happened, the books I ended up reading before it are now favorites, while this book is still reckoned as a disappointment. It may possibly be that, by saving this book for last I had invested it with unwarranted expectations, but, it in the end I could only conclude that this book is not Bryson at his best...

There is lots of typical Bryson humor here (I love the gadget buying stuff, for example) but the fact remains that when I saw that this was about an Appalachian Trail book, I assumed we would get an account of a trail traversal. Not so. Bill and his companion last only a few weeks on the trail and then quit about a quarter way through. That shouldn't matter perhaps, if journalistic truth is the ultimate goal, but the fact is that an 'adventure' book like this needed a good story with closure; The style, I felt, demanded that there be a successful finish somewhere... As it stands the book disappoints fundamentally.... after the failure to conclude the trail, the chapters that discuss subsequent hikes are just superfluous.

Bill .... walk the trail. Get back to us after-wards.....

This book was written in the style of John McPhee and even quoting him once in a while. It includes facts and people like "The Perfect Storm." Then Bill Bryson adds first hand personal experiences. You can identify with his comments that do not have to be funny to be familiar.

This book recounts Bill Bryson's experiences on the Appalachian Trail. The dry facts can be picked up through other material. However the personal experiences are just that, personal. If you have never been hiking then you still get a feel for what you have missed. However if you have hiked then you can really appreciate the people he met, and circumstances that he went through. There are hikers and then there are hikers. In the Boy Scouts you are usually in a well-organized group, in the military you have to be more cautious of objects and terrain, Sierra Club and Outward Bound have their unique points of view. So if his experience is different, it still makes for fun reading.

I even liked the sections on selecting and using the equipment. I am afraid if I had met Bill Bryson on the trail; I would have been one of those "equipment comparing" people.

Anyway do not expect an epic and you will enjoy the time you spend reading this book. Oh, and it does make me want to go hiking.

The Mother Tongue

Bill bryson has a nack for humurous story telling. His friend that goes on this adventure is hilarious. I've read a few of Bryson's books and they are all good. Definitely worth the cost for a fun read.