Rating: 
Summary: Good if you like the outdoors
Review: I haven't finished this book yet but I'm almost there. I like to hike though I must admit I prefer day hikes to packing multiple days' worth of stuff on my back. For the most part, this book didn't disappoint me- it was both funny and informative.Some things do bug me though... Bryson and Katz can be surprisingly arrogant sometimes, and their sarcasm sometimes passes over into pettiness. For example, stealing another hiker's bootlaces is pretty immature, even if they are rude to you, as is making snide comments to an acquaintance's attempts at friendly conversation, which both Katz and Bryson do quite frequently. I also wish Bryson would tell us where he got some of his information. He says the average American walks something like a mile and half each week, and I remember reading somewhere else that it was seven miles a day... so who, if anyone, is right? Still, Bryson does a great job of weaving anecdotes with science, geography, and history. It's an entertaining book.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining...but a little draining
Review: The adventures of a couple of out-of-shape hikers. There are some very funny moments in this book due to the author's friend, Katz, more than himself. And when the author gets bogged down in discouraging facts about the state of the wilderness, you wish that Katz would intervene. I wish they'd have taken on the 'whole' trail - together - but after reading what they went through, I can understand why they did not.
Rating:
Summary: I disliked this book immensely
Review: After the excellent 'Mother Tongue' and 'Notes', this was a bit of a let-down. Should be retitled 'A Walk on the Mild Side' I had absolutely no trouble putting it down......quite boring.
Rating:
Summary: The outdoors like it really is
Review: Bill Bryson captures the world of adventure hiking with a real dose of reality....yes there is grandeur...but the struggle along snowy trails is eclipsed by the real trouble of choosing a state of the art tent, bag, boots etc....and coming to terms with the price of these items....and realising they still might not protect you from simple things like rain....let alone the ominous threat of bear attack. This is the tale of real people with real foibles, dealing with the real elements of a real world. This book makes you very aware of the vulnerability of our environment and just how much we have to lose if we don't go and take a look!
Rating: 
Summary: A hilarious, bawdy and lyrical account of a novice hiker.
Review: If you're a veteran trailblazer, or an overstuffed potato with a light dusting of chives, Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods is for you. It's a 274-page account of the author's attempt to cover the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, by foot or by taxi cab, and the laughter it provides alone would make it worth buying. Bryson has a gift for dropping in a punch line like a swift, silent hammer. And it's the humor at his own expense that makes this book so much fun. Sure, he's done his homework, and packed the book with fascinating facts, but he lets you know right off it's only research--he wasn't born with the knowledge, and he hasn't spent his best years acquiring it. He's out of his element walking 2,100 miles with a full pack, somewhat like George Plimpton in Paper Lion, lying on his back after attempting to play professional football. Bryson, an Iowan who spent the last 20 years in Europe, is amazed at how big and beautiful America still is--and will be if we take care of it. He hoists his load of expensive equipment, and with one very out-of-shape boyhood friend, sets off for glory. Together, they find that the insects zum, the bears love Snickers, killers lurk in the woods, hiking is addictive, and hypothermia and exotic diseases can . . . well, you'll see for yourself. Bryson can be as bawdy as an Italian comic opera, and as lyrical as a poet in the next breath: "Twice I flushed grouse, always a terrifying experience: an instantaneous explosion from the undergrowth at your feet, like balled socks fired from a gun, followed by drifting feathers and a lingering residue of fussy, bitching noise." "Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old. That's all there is to it." Because he laughs at himself, Bryson makes me feel like I'm right there with him. It could be me falling down in the mud, slipping on the mossy rocks, or tackling one of the most daunting feats imaginable: a 2,100-mile hike past bears and starvation and killers and the swamps of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. I suppose Bryson could have turned this into a great nonfiction novel, perhaps the story of his companion Katz's struggle against alcoholism, or a race against the seasons in that heroic quest to reach Maine's Mt. Katahdin. Instead it's heartwarming and probably more revealing about what it's really like to hike a wilderness trail than any fictionalized saga. It's also funny as hell. And an easy read. And you can't beat that.
Rating:
Summary: A wondeful book, made me appreciate the subject
Review: I read this book to start with mainly because I so enjoy this author's writing style. However, he is such a masterful writer, he made me also have an appreciation for the trail and for other subjects I thought I had no interest in, like the death of the chestnut tree. I even learned much about my childhood state of Maine, where his trek ended. I can't imagine anyone not liking this book.
Rating:
Summary: ENTERTAINING, FUNNY , MOTIVATING
Review: As an older out of shape person I admire Bryson for getting his dream off the ground. That he does not accomplish the goal is not important. What is important is that he set on the path to follow his dream. He had the support of his friend and his wife. On the journey he learned, maybe he had to adjust his goal as it was not realistic for him. But along the journey he learned about nature, himself, people along the way and others who set goals that may not be realistic. He makes us realize that we have placed too much emphasis on the car and have become a nation of lazy people. Growing up in Pennsylvania I hiked parts of the trail- most of the Girl Scouts and Boy Scout troops of the area did too. Everyone had the dream of a through hike someday but realized after two or three days on the trail that was enough for them. It was a fun experience but enough to experience the woods. What is amazing that the trail has endured despite the neglect and the attitudes of people today. This proves that the dream lives on for some. Bryson tells a humorous tale- one that could be the tale of many of us who attempted this awesome goal today. We have been living in Europe several years and have hiked trails in the Alps. Every hike makes me think of the A.T. and I compare the current hike to the old days along the A.T. I am getting this book as a present for my old friends. It will bring memories to them too.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining, informative and easy to read book.
Review: This was a very stimulating book that not only entertained my with the author's wit and sarcasm, but informed me of a little known national treasure.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was a HUGE disappointment!!
Review: I read through this book with a light heart. It was nice in that it took it lightly and can make anyone believe they can hike. HOWEVER - after having read through it - I was annoyed to find that these 2 didn't even complete the trail. I have done sections and my biggest triumph was getting to the top of Katahdin. They did not. I was waiting to hear how they did it and what they thought of it. It seems they just decided one day to stop hiking and walk out. That was not what I read on and on to get to at the end!!!
Rating:
Summary: It was a hilarious but educational adventure.
Review: This book brought great joy to us and gave us an appreciation for the Appalacian Trail. My family and I recently re-located to the Chicago area. We spent the summer in a small efficiency apartment waiting for the closing of our home. During this time, reading this book to my family became a nightly ritual. I am an avid reader, but this is the first time my husband and 8 year old son requested that I read to them until they were asleep. The next day we would often find ourselves discussing the trail and the hilarious adventures that happened along the way. We felt lost when we had completed the book. Thanks for the laughs and the education of the trail. We had no idea of its vastness and history.
| 
