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Summary: A WAlk in the Woods
Review: 2,100 miles was the amount he wanted to challenge him to do. The comic genius, Bill Bryson decided to hike the Appalachian Trail (also know as the AT) with a friend from Iowa. Bryson wrote the book A Walk in the Woods after his experience with the AT. It is a very humors book about Bryson and his city Friend, Kats, trying to survive in the woods. Bryson is in the outdoors with his slow and out-of -shape collage friend, and Bryson is hopping he will have to use his manly skills by coming face to face with a big, 6 foot bear. He tells stories about people getting attacked by bears because of snickers bars. The one thing Kats uses to keep his blood sugar up are snickers. If you want to hike the AT but are too lazy to actually hike the AT than this book is for you. This book has many interesting facts about the AT and the people that hike it. Who knows you could be one of the people in the book if u hiked the trail blind or u were over weight and decided to walk the trail to loose weight. If you are one of those people , or you want to read it while u hike the AT, or just for a laugh than this book is for you.
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Summary: A great book... almost outstanding... but......
Review: Bill Bryson is a brilliant author. Bryson's book is full of wonderful stories about his hike on the AT, loaded with stories of all the crazy things that can happen (and do) along the way. He tells these stories with enough detail and description so that you can almost see each incident in your mind, and feel it in your stomach. He has a wonderful gift for story-telling.Bryson also uses the story to also convey a lot of factual information and keen observation about the world around us. He has interesting information and opinions about how our country developed, how we live today compared to the pioneers, the care of our environment, the administration of our parks and forests, etc. While several commentors have found these portions less enjoyable than the pure description of his hike, I found them fascinating. Again, Bryson does a masterful job of weaving this backdrop information into the story of the hike, and I believe the result is a very rich mixture of story and observation... with the observation making the story even better. So what is it that keeps this from being an OUTSTANDING book? Unfortunately, it's peppered with foul language. I for one would enjoy this book much more if were less coarse. I'd love to share this book with my wife and kids and enjoy it together... but no way as it is.
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Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny at Times, Then Moving
Review: I Highly recommend this enjoyable book. Bryson's ironic sense of humor is laugh out loud funny at times, but then as the book moves on the humor becomes less frequent and an almost meloncholia sets in when his co-hiker Katz leaves for a few months. Thankfully Katz returns and it is what happens next that is most moving. Cheers to Mr. Bryson. I will indeed be reading his other books.
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Summary: A book both thrilling and disappointing..
Review: I was looking through the shelves of my local book store and picked up this book and bought it thinking I was going to read a story of humor and survival he hiked for months from Georgia to Maine. As I read to about halfway through the book I realized with dismay that this is not the case. Like many other thru-hikers on the Applacian Trail they gave up before they reached VA. If you are looking for a story about a brave soul making his way through falling rocks, snake and bear attacks, and harsh arctic winds, this is not the book you are looking for. If your looking for humor and the testing of human spirit to make it over a month's worth of hills and woods, then this is a book for you. I do have to give credit to Bryson for the excellent humor expressed. I definately laughed out loud several times reading about out of shape Bryson and his slightly unstable friend Katz make their way helplessly through the woods. This book is definately worth reading for a ton of laughs and a good time, but if you want an action-packed travel story, look elsewhere.
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Summary: A Great Story
Review: This book was very funny as well as incredibly interesting. It's my first Bryson book but now I intend to read them all. Bryson is very intelligent as his writing reveals.
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Summary: Where's the Bear?
Review: I will never wall the AT. I probably will not even cross its' path in NH. (where I live). "A Walk in the Woods" is not hilarious but is very amusing, and educational. For those of you who share my scepticism (or ignorance), there are websites devoted to Centralia, PA. I enjoyed Bill Bryson's style of documentary that, at times, seemed like a novel. The story seemed to be leading to a dramatic climax; but it was, in fact, real life. ...now, about the cover photo...
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Summary: Educational and comical
Review: This book was fantastic. It was so hysterical that I lost track of time while reading it. It reminded me very much of the same style of writing that Jon Krakauer has. If you enjoyed books like "Eiger dreams" by Krakauer, then you will love this one. It was the first book of Brysons that I have read and I plan on getting the rest as well. It not only told the story of an unlikely pair on the Appalacian Trail, but also histories of some states, ecology lessons, small town descriptions and even a lesson on Stonewall Jackson. It is easy to PICTURE the author and his friend in all of the situations mentioned in the book, and even easier to LAUGH at them. You can't help but pity these guys and wonder exactly how they were able to make it home alive. If you are ready for a great read that perks up your day....grab this one and enjoy.
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Summary: Adventures from the Appalachian Trail
Review: I picked this book up on impulse. (I was standing in line at a bookstore - yes, I do still buy them in stores now & then - & it was on the counter, that little bear on the cover just staring at me.) It was a very lucky find. Part travelogue, part comedy, _Walk in the Woods_ made me want to move back East again & trade my Cascades for the Appalachian Mountain Range. Humor is especially hard to pull off in print, but Bill Bryson is a master. I laughed out loud many times while reading this adventure. I think sometimes Mr. Bryson gets a little preachy in his criticism of the Forest Service, but overlooking that, the book is very enjoyable.
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Summary: Hilarious Hike
Review: I really enjoyed Bryson's book. He reads the book on the abridged audio tape version and I found his Iowa/British accent to be very unusual. I laughed out loud many times as I listened driving to and from work. I'm not sure if I'd have the guts to try hiking the AT but I certainly gained an appreciation of those who do hike it. His friend Katz was definitely a colorful character. I first encountered him in Bryson's European travel book which unfortunately was not as enjoyable as this one. I'd like to read the unabridged version of this book sometime.
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Summary: Fools Rush In
Review: I first discovered Bill Bryson via his hilarious European travelogue, Neither Here Nor There. I then eagerly turned to Notes From A Small Island, in which he recounts a journey around Britain via public transport. I found this substantially less entertaining so it was a little trepidation that I picked up his account of hiking the Appalachian Trail. One early surprise is the reappearance of Stephen Katz (a grumpy and constantly complaining old high school buddy who appears in Neither Here Nor There) as his hiking partner. Katz is a perfect addition, as he is a spectacular combination of inept, obstinate, and plain childish--in short, an entertaining traveling companion, as long as he's not with you. Needless to say, once it's established that the AT is insanely long and difficult, there's not a zillion things to say about the actual walking. So Bryson concentrates on retelling the history behind the trail, stories and legends of the trail, and anything else remotely tangential that is interesting. There's a lot of little interesting tidbits scattered throughout the book, the conclusion one draws, however, is that hiking the AT is a fool's errand. On that note, I've heard from friends that bit of the book exaggerate elements of the trail, this doesn't particularly bother me, as it's part of long and honorable tradition in travel writing of fudging a bit to serve the narrative. Altogether, great stuff, look forward to reading his next.
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