Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious and fun to read!
Review: I heard someone mention a book by Bill Bryson. Curious, I checked Amazon for Bryson's book but ordered this one instead (I love the outdoors and have been on parts of the Appalachian trail).Was I pleasantly surprised! I found myself laughing out loud from the start of the book to the end. The book is a great blend of writing about the outdoors, people, history, and adventure. On a serious note, the book is a lengthy critique of how we pretty much systematically trash the world and the peculiar way Americans relate to nature (and to living our lives, really). It's the first book I've read in a long time that didn't give me a headache at some point before I finished. I don't know what that means, but it's true.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Companion
Review: Simply put, this is a thoroughly entertaining and nourishing read. This was my first Bryson book and I look forward to reading some of his other extended essays on traveling and language. Actually, to label this title a travel essay is to be somewhat smug. Bryson is clearly no jock or major naturalist which made the telling of his odyssey through the Appalachian Trail all the more enjoyable and relatable. He's a good storyteller with a sharp wit and keen appreciation for the idiosyncratic behavior of those he stumbles across in the woods. Here's a writer with enough enthusiasm for history to keep things 'nourishing' as I said yet is self-concious enough not to overwhelm us with facts and environmental issues. I must say that the most enjoyable sections of the book were those which relayed his experiences alongside his sometimes-companion "Katz", the overweight junk-food junkie who joins him throughout the southern and northernmost sections of the trail. A wonderful 'trek' recorded with lots of self-effacing humor and compassion.
Rating:
Summary: A Delightfully Informative Account of Life on the AT
Review: Bill Bryson delivers a delightful and informative account of life on the Appalachian Trail in his book, A Walk in the Woods. His descriptions of people whom he and his old friend Katz encounter on the trail are hilarious. Mr. Bryson celebrates the adventurous human spirit while he walks the reader through the AT and all of its splendor. The author often shares his wealth of knowledge on the history of the AT, and he impresses upon the reader the importance and urgency of the conservation of America's wilderness and natural resources.
Rating: 
Summary: A Walk In The Woods - Re-visited
Review: While this is DEFINITELY NOT a how-to book, much can be learned from this outrageously funny book of trail tales, mostly about what happens when disaster meets determination along the Appalachian trail. When this came out, I bought it to pass the time on a plane trip from Portland, Oregon to Orlando with my manager who NEVER laughs. I gave it to him instead, and he laughed all the way to Florida!
Rating:
Summary: A nice walk
Review: Bryson did a good job in detailing his trips into the hills to walk the AT. He uses humor, clear language and has no problem poking as much fun at himself as he does at others. The one part I am a little disappointed with is the start of Part 2 when Katz heads home and Bryson starts his day hikes. Nothing you can do about that I suppose. Overall a great read for the train, plane or automobile.
Rating:
Summary: An introspective walk
Review: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. Recommended. Bill Bryson is known for his wry humour, and this is my first experience of it. Bryson gets it into his head to walk the famous Appalachian Trail. He is joined in this venture by Stephen Katz, an alcoholic, troubled, overweight friend who's an unlikely candidate as a hiker/mountain man but who, with his many foibles, adds a much-needed personal touch. Bryson covers a lot of territory-literally and figuratively. He talks briefly about the birth and history of the trail, hazards that range from bears and lethal viruses to unforgiving weather and deranged murderers, the decline of forest species, acid rain, the maps developed of the trail, its disputed length, the shelters along the way, the Forest Service's love affair with road building, the National Park Service's love affair with inefficiency and mismanagement, the people they meet on the trail and off the trail in small towns and tourist trap cities, pack weight, food, and how what you do is walk. We also learn a great deal about Katz that make him both likeable and not at all likeable. I suspect he is someone who is interesting and funny to read about, but who is infuriating in real life. His nonchalance when Bryson is convinced there are bears nearby is a high point. Bryson is charming, witty, aggravating, and snobbish. If you can see the humorous side of bureaucracy, small-town and rural America, and what was once known as Yuppiedom, you will appreciate his running commentary on The downside of the book is that it hits an anticlimax shy of 2/3 through and never recovers. Perhaps this is symbolic of how walking the trail is. This is not an Appalachian Trail "how-to" book, nor is it for the serious hiker or nature lover who expects to find out vicariously what it's like to hike the trail. It's a dryly funny commentary on humanity that happens to be a walk in the woods. Diane L. Schirf, 16 March 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Romance of walking
Review: Despite their tales of deprivation, Walking in the Woods has rekindled my desire to hit the trails. At the minimum its triggered me to purchase two local trail books (Walking Places in DC and a Virginia Trails book) and a walking log (American Health Planner). I confess that my copy of Walking Through the Woods was loaned to me... but I heartily recommend it for purchase. My wife wondered what I was giggling about. I would read her the segment, and then she still wondered,... perhaps, because the giggles come from the wonderful context the author puts us in. You had to be there and with Bryson, I feel like I am there... trudging, on a dubious of mission of sorts, with a peculiar side kick, becoming more manly, experiencing the absurd, living life. It's good.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, enjoyable,
Review: and interesting. The humor is a bit like Twain's European travel books. There is substance to the Bryson book, as it is a worthy adventure in my view.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been great.... BUT
Review: As an avid hiker and outdoorsman, I picked up this book for a slice-of-life look at a trail I have profound interest in. And, for the second half of the book, it wasn't bad. But I almost stopped reading it after seeing Bryson resort to cheap-shot stereotypes when it comes to the people and places of the South. Good writing should enlighten, but instead, Bryson reaches for the simplistic 'Deliverance' reference when talking about Northern Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. It cheapens his work, and makes reading difficult for anyone who knows the REALITY of the Southern Mountains. After Bryson and his companion reach Virginia, things improve a little, but never really start to soar. Anyone looking to learn anything about the AT will be disappointed, but Bryson does delve into some interesting topics about the outdoors and being outdoors. The book actually reaches its high point just before the end when an argument threatens to break up the pair of hikers, but unfortunately, it's the really the only time a good story is developed and brought to a fufilling conclusion. Like his hike in the book, Bryson takes too many short cuts and easy ways out with his writing, and what could have been an entertaining and enlightening book falls well short of the finish line.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and informative.
Review: Bill Bryson's travel writing has influenced my personal life in no small way. His 1989 book "The Lost Continent" (which I first discovered in 1996 and have since revisited many times), documenting his (mis)adventures driving cross-country in the United States, played a significant role in my own decision to hit the road and see this fascinating nation for myself. (Coincidentally, I am currently writing this review from Iowa, Bryson's birthplace and frequent target of his signature dry wit.) Having spent the greater part of his adult life abroad in England, Bryson returned to the United States with his family several years ago, settling in a small town in New Hampshire, to rediscover the land he'd left as a youth. He has since written two books about his time spent in America, one of them being "A Walk in the Woods", Bryson's account of his experiences hiking the renowned Appalachian Trail. Considered by many to be the Holy Grail of hiking trails in the United States, the Appalachian Trail runs approximately 2,100 miles long, stretching from Georgia to Maine and passing through 12 additional states along the way. Every year, hundreds of people attempt to walk the entire length of the trail from beginning to end, with only a small portion of them successfully completing the endeavor. Known as "thru-hikers", the majority of these aspiring individuals underestimate the sheer scope and arduousness of the undertaking. Most drop out well before the halfway point. Those who persevere are treated to extreme temperatures hot and cold, gruesomely harsh terrains, unrelenting winds and rainfall, a wide variety of wild predators, and some of the most awesomely scenic sights of natural beauty on earth. Bryson begins his own trek along the Appalachian Trail admittedly inexperienced and somewhat out-of-shape. Accompanied by an oafish college buddy named Katz with whom he shares a decidedly odd love-hate relationship (it often feels like Katz's sole purpose in being there is so that Bryson will always have someone to make fun of), the two set off with full backpacks on what promises to be a journey filled with humor, wit, insight and adventure. Along the way they encounter other hikers (some highly eccentric in disposition), endure the hardships of bad weather, visit neighboring small towns, and cover more ground on foot in a scant few weeks than most of us will in an entire year. Eventually they end their first phase of the hike in northern Virginia and part separate ways. Bryson continues to investigate key points along the trail in short spurts over the next several months, embarking on daytrips and brief overnighters in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New England. In the last section of the book Bryson and Katz reunite to tackle the final hundred-mile stretch of the trail in Maine. Although Bryson never actually completes the entire length of the trail in true "thru-hike" fashion, he explores enough of it from enough different places to ensure that his description of the Appalachian Trial overall is valid and well-informed. If you have read any of Bryson's previous books, you will be familiar with his penchant for digressing from the main line of action to muse on various tidbits of history, factoids and trivia. In one paragraph he'll be admiring the splendid view from a mountaintop; in the next he's providing an overview of the trail's origins. Some of this information, especially when it pertains to the ecological aspects of the Appalachian Trail, is genuinely fascinating. Bryson is also well-known for his wry and witty observations about virtually everything he encounters: from the exasperating science of shopping for hiking gear, to the shoddy upkeep of certain portions of the trail. Though not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of his other works, there are plenty of moments scattered throughout the book that will inspire a hearty chuckle. He also does an admirable job of conveying the beauty and grandeur, not to mention the less attractive elements, of the Appalachian Trail. Although you never obtain a true sense of actually "being there" from reading his descriptive passages, Bryson nevertheless provides an adequate depiction of what it must feel like to embark on this epic journey. There is something agreeably comforting in reading a book by Bryson, who comes across as a friendly, educated, next-door-neighbor type of guy who would make a fine traveling companion. His informal, chatty writing style is ideally suited for a warm, lazy summer's afternoon sitting on the front porch with a glass of lemonade by your side. It's a pleasant, light reading experience that provides equal doses of laughter and insight. Although "A Walk in the Woods" is not particularly romantic, it is affectionate and sentimental in the right places, and may very well inspire me to someday throw on a pair of hiking boots and head off for a little 2,100-mile walk of my own.
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