Rating: 
Summary: In support of Bill
Review: Having read some of these reviews I felt I had to speak up for Bill a little. I started reading books by Bryson when living in my UK home, and got the impression that to a large extent he is speaking to a British audience. When I introduced my American husband to the books, he was initially offended by what he perceived as Bill's anti-American comments (on the National Park Service, for example). However, he persevered and eventually became as much of a fan as me, and we both almost died laughing at Bill's terror of encountering a bear (a fear I can completely relate to). Bill is not trying to offend people, he's just giving his middle-of-the-road opinions with a touch of exaggeration to emphasise his reactions to people whose lifestyles or personalities appear slightly more extreme. Who out there would disagree with his disgusted comments about the ignorant drunken hikers who pushed Bill and Katz out of their shelter, forcing them to sleep in their tent in the rain? The bottom line is - you can't always expect to agree with Bill Bryson's opinion, and you shouldn't take what he says too seriously. After all, he's just hoping to raise an eyebrow or a laugh - it's entertainment, not The Rough Guide. I say good on you Bill for even thinking of attempting such an undertaking, and thanks a lot for letting us share it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hiking/Comedy - Two things a didn't know go togethor
Review: First of all, don't read this book if you think it will be soley about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Bill Bryson is a comedy writer as much as anything. Bill makes fun of most people he meets, but also makes fun of himself. Bill and Katz meet a lot of people on the trail that have different problems, but Bill and Katz have as many problems as the next guy. I've read this book three times. Why? Not to get information on the Appalachian Trail, not to learn about hiking, but to get a good laugh. This is a very good book, just take it (A comedy piece with hiking thrown in) for what it is, not what its not (A piece about thru hiking the Appalachian trail. I'm a hiker and in many ways I can relate to what Bill is trying to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny but a little disappointing
Review: Bill Bryson's ability to weave a story from the seemingly dreary topic of walking in the woods left my wife and me laughing out loud and buying more books by Bryson. When the adventure begins in early spring Bryson and his sometime friend Katz are overweight and out of shape, yet set out-maybe with misguided enthusiasm-to spend a few months in the woods walking the Appalachian Trail. The curious people they meet and misadventures they endure are amusing and often pitiable and kept us tuning the pages. Like any good travelogue, this book has plenty of background history, and I enjoyed learning how the trail originated as much as hearing of its present condition and speculated fate. But "A Walk in the Woods" has plenty of shortcomings too. It is filled with casual cynicism, which Bryson doles out liberally and quite frequently, although I will say he tries to poke a little fun at himself on occasion. Also, the profanity wary should note that lots of cursing accompanies the story, but even worse, Bryson's appalling remarks about a couple who prayed before eating dinner confirmed what I began to suspect part way through the book: that the author can in fact be mean-spirited and uninformed, which ultimately made me question the credibility of his entire account of the hike.
Speaking of which, there was not an entire account of the hike because there was not an entire hike. Bryson and Katz give up-and disappointingly soon-and although revealing that may give away part of the book, it seems important to mention it here because if you want a book about hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, this is not it. Finally, despite the all the shortcomings, Bryson's skillful writing and his ability to flush out details, not just in the natural wonders of the trail and towns he visits, but in the peculiar people he often meets, is worth spending time with.
Rating: 
Summary: Downhill from the mid-point
Review: The book starts off well and I must admit I had a hard time putting it down until about half way through. But it seemed once he and Katz quit the trail, he had a hard time knowing what to do next or how to end the book. The first half was immensely entertaining however, but it too had some severe drawbacks. First of all, I grew very weary of hearing how everyone was an idiot except for him. Yet it was very clear that our characters where far from the brightest guys on the trail. To be so arrogant is bad enough, but to be arrogant from a position of such incompetence is particularly annoying. The author also displayed his stupidity through frequent departures about the Forest Service, Park Service, Stonewall Jackson, tree anotomy, his childish fear of bears and much much more. Whenever he left the tale of the trail to spout off on a subject, he showed he knows just enough to be dangerous about a few things, but not enough to be fair or accurate. Sometimes he was completely incorrect or showed a total lack of understanding of what he was talking about. The sad thing is that so many people will believe the diatribe simply because its printed in a book. An author should have the responsibility to do some minimal research before bashing people, places or things in a book. Bryson clearly did not do much homework, but just went with his personal and often uninformed opinions presented as facts. Quite unfortunate.
Rating:
Summary: Happy Traiillls To You....
Review: -- "Walk" discusses how the author (and an equally amusing friend) logged a few miles on one of hiking's premier challenges. It's a good complement to the author's journeys in more civilized locales.
-- I've been hiking for over thirty years and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I saw much similiarity between this book and my own experiences (it sure ain't easy to trudge back and retrieve things you think you desperately need, it's good to choose your traveling companions well, a nice sense of cheerfulness helps to ease the aching feet, etc.). Bryson selected his challenge quite nicely, because his beginner's errors were eminently correctable by walking a few miles into town. Yes, he did bad things to people he met along the way and yes, he littered terribly [as an aside...if you think he was the first person to be uncivilized to fellow travelers, you need to spend some time climbing in France or Switzerland, and if you think he littered too much, well, maybe that's artistic license -- at least he didn't toss empty beer cans from his ATV in the Mojave desert, toss his old oxygen bottles into the pile at Everest Base Camp, or pitch his excess baggage off the edge of the trail up the Matterhorn].
-- I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting an amusing and light read, especially if they want to see how funny hiking can be.
Rating:
Summary: A Par by Bryson's Standards
Review: If you are an avid hiker, or have hiked the AT (esp. all the way), then you ought to read this book to make you feel really good about yourself. Bryson couldn't make it all the way, really couldn't make it even halfway, and spent a lot of time complaining about Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Beyond that, I don't know what the avid hiker will get out of this book, as Bryson is (by his own admission) more a British style hiker, and is not quite used to roughing it. If you are a big Bryson fan, there is no doubt that you will read this book, so I am not going to waste my (and your) time telling you all about it. If you are neither of the two categories above, I really wonder if buying this book is the right thing for you. Bryson spends a lot of the book humorously ranting about the trudgery of walking the trail, and how there are so few scenic vistas, and so few people to talk to, and how the Park Service is so inept, and how so few people care, and on and on. At the end, the prose becomes a bit like the trail itself, a lot of the same thing over and over and over. The one thing that would be unique, the people, is brushed aside. Folks that Bryson and Katz (his travelling companion who seems to speak and act like the devil on Bill's shoulder) run into are all (a literary marvel) stereotypes that Bryson portrays himself as superior to (sweaty, stinky and hungry, but superior). You have the incompetent bungler who tells everyone that she is the expert, the guy who keeps getting lost, the troop of nameless Boy Scouts, the group of semi-nameless yuppy hikers (Hey Sport!), the hillbilly with a shotgun chasing the guy who was making a move on his wife and, as always in Bryson book, the staggering array of partially researched eccentric historical figures. I will include the disclaimer that I am not a hiker, so I didn't mind that Bryson though that he was an expert on this subject. What I am is a purchaser of books, and I am an expert at spending my money. If you have lasted this long in the review, I congratulate you. You should buy this book, because it is a better piece of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Good for few laughs
Review: Although the characters in this book made me laugh out loud the story lacked something. He didn't finish the thru hike. He has way to many tangents (polical, historical, evolution, etc). It just seemed to me that the guy walked the trail to have a book to write.
Rating:
Summary: Finding One's Inner Self
Review: Once I started on this book it was hard to put it down. We all have had similar experiences as did the author. Maybe our's was not the AT, but every character and situation was believable. Who of us has not had unique friends and situations that made us both happy and sad. But when alone...really ALONE in the forest (ordinary life) we do find how fragile we actually are. It was enjoyable to get to laugh at someone else having the "short end of the stick" for a change!
Rating:
Summary: LOL!
Review: At times laugh-out-loud funny, this book was hard to put down. For those who have been on extended hikes in the woods, you'll get a kick out of the descriptions of fellow hikers and what goes on. For those of you who don't hike, you'll enjoy it also. That's the beauty of the book--you don't have to have been down the same trail as Mr. Bryson to get a laugh and enjoy yourself as his writing makes you feel as though your're right there in the moment. Mr. Bryson certainly has an ear for dialogue, and the format of this book reminds me of McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood. The commentaries on the South, Stonewall Jackson, along with what happens to the characters along the way makes this one of the most entertaining reads I've come across in a long time. Along with A Short History of Nearly Everything, this is one of my favorite books. Bryson and Katz provide some of the best entertainment this side of the Mississippi. The book is part Garison Keillor, part Vonnegut, with a dose of down-home humor thrown in for good measure. This one won't disappoint. Also recommended: A Short History of Nearly Everything, and Bark of the Dogwood
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't stop laughing!!!
Review: Very seldom these days do I pick up a book and laugh so hard I pee!! Bill Bryson is a master at laughing at himself and yes, at others! I live in North Carolina, have hiked across Fontana Dam (just to say I walked on the AT) and everything he had to say about NC and the South was absolutely true. Just two years ago I spent a miserable day in Gatlinburg so reading his disection of this mass of consumerism in the heart of one of our great national parks made my day. I will continue to search out and read more of his books because I really enjoy his type of humor.
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