A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Cassette)

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Summary: Exactly what is "wrong" with our concepts of nature.
Review: Bryson attempts to be funny, but this book is more pathetic than humorous. As a long-distance hiker myself (did the entire AT several years ago), I found it sad that his ill-conceived attempt at hiking the whole trail (he does not nearly finish) is strewn with stories of trash he left trailside or in camp, and exactly what not to do in preparing for or conducting oneself on such an "adventure". There are much more high-quality books on the topic, such as Shaffer's "Walking with Spring", Deed's "There are Mountains to Climb", and others. Also, if you are looking for stupidity or humor in the backwoods, you can certainly find better, 'though this does fit the catagory.

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Summary: This is not the A to Z of the AT
Review: I am amused to read several of the reviews already written about this excellent yarn prior to writing my own review. It is almost as funny as the book itself that all the "one-stars" have been awarded by gung-ho trampers who wanted an A-Z of the AT. This is a satire not a dictionary. This excellent yarn is entertaining from start to finish with satire, wit and other anecdotes. I suggest those who gave it one star go back to school and learn to appreciate an excellent sataristc yarn.

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Summary: Get into the spirit of it!
Review: Anyone who picks up this book thinking it is a "how-to" guide has definitely missed the Bryson boat. This is for anyone who has ever been enthralled with the impossible dream and has a well-developed sense of the absurdity that surrounds us in everyday life. Byrson makes no pretense of being an expert or even adequate hiker, which is why this book is FUN. He's just like the rest of us only better at it.I picked this book up in London a year ago, before it was available in the U.S. and have been recommending it like crazy to anyone who enjoys laughing. I nearly got tossed out of an Italian restaurant for making a scene while laughing so hard.

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Summary: This was a fun read
Review: This was a fun read-I agree with the reviewer who compared it with "Into Thin Air," but with humor. This is a "must read" for people in their mid-forties to mid-fifties who can identify with the physical deterioration coupled with a deeper appreciation for life and nature, which go with middle age. Bryson pairs humor with some lyrical analysis and insight, and the ending, comparing two views on what it means to actually hike the AT, I found to be quite moving. END

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Summary: A good read, but...
Review: I enjoyed this book a good deal, but Bryson comes across a bit too arrogant for me. He spends an awful lot of time complaining about too many people in certain areas of the AT, and then chastises others for not enjoying nature. If we all had the time or resources to do what Mr. Bryson did, then his complaints would be better served. BUT, I did enjoy his book and must say I am jealous of his journey!

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Summary: An excellent book!
Review: I've come to the conclusion after reading all these reviews that it's a good thing books aren't written by committees. Buy this book. Read this book. Give it to a friend. If you want to read a book about specific techniques of hiking the AT, get a pamphlet from REI. This is a story about two guys who try to hike the AT. That's it. Simple. And terrific.

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Summary: Negativity Reigns!
Review: Bill Bryson hates everything; the South, Southerners, other hikers, the Park Service, the rain.......you get the drift. Yes, he's a very expressive writer but why he chose to write about an experience which he found so overwhelmingly negative is beyond me. There are funny parts, but DON'T read this if you're a hiker with a love of the wilderness looking to read about a similar person's experience.

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Summary: A wickedly funny primer on how NOT to do the AT.
Review: I realize that this book is not for everyone. But many of us can relate to someone like Bryson: a person who gets an idea, and then gets captivated by the "stuff" that seems to be necessary for pursuing any dream (outfitting stores are really a wonderful place to play!). I laughed until I cried when I read this book -- I could really see myself doing some of this stuff!! This book is not for those who "do" the AT. It's for those of us who wish we could, know we can't, and who secretly are impressed (and amazed) by anyone who would give up six months of their life to do so!

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Summary: By all means worthy of my time...
Review: While perhaps overly self-absorbed and unnecessarily critical, Bryson's narrative in A Walk in the Woods is well-written, witty, and a pleasure to read. It's a shame he couldn't come down off his high horse to develop any of his characters more than to satirize them, but he makes some truly profound statements about the rapid decline of America's nature at the hands of civilization -- and specifically the carelessness of organizations like the National Park Service. The purpose of the book was never to declare what a gallant woodsman he was, nor pretend that his attempt of the famed Trail was anything particularly extraordinary to the world. Overall, it was quite enjoyable, thoughtful and worthy of the time I spent reading it. I'm sorry that some reviewers have been too caught up with truly banal trivialities of the book to enjoy it at all, and also sorry that there are some who see this as an amazing work of literature when it definitely has flaws... but I believe Mr. Bryson, unlike many modern novelists, has earned most of the esteem his book has been granted and I look forward to picking up one of his other titles to see if he does anything better with his considerable talent.

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Summary: Bryson has had his nose stuffed up English ass for years.
Review: Will take far fewer than 1000 words to review Bryson. Or maybe not. It is telling that this Anglophilic "arse" sniffer is on the best-seller lists in the UK. He loves all that is Brit <witness his constant use of Briticisms when writing for an American audience - undoubtedly a smaller one than in the UK> and his exaggerated and hopelessly phony sounding renditions of encounters with his fellow Americans <he cringes at this>. Beehive hair-do's and cat-eye glasses - such is what this hapless Europhile endured, allegedly, all the while fatuously catering to the Islanders who have thus far so awarded him their readership. Theroux is honest. Jan Morris is honest. This fawning sycophant chucklehead is the biggest fraud since Milli Vanilli....only comparison I could think of. Is one star as low as I can go?