Rating: 
Summary: A trip worth taking
Review: This isn't Bryson's best or funniest book ("Neither Here Nor There" wins on that account), but it may be his most sincere and heartfelt. He captures that peculiar joy of long distant walking, where simple things -- a cold drink of water, a candy bar, a warm place to sleep -- take on the glow of supreme pleasure. Where the view from a summit obtained after great effort has the crystal clarity of a primal vision. And he doesn't skimp on the difficult parts: the ache of a heavy pack, the sweat of a steep climb or the monotony of a long trudge through unfamiliar woods. He effortlessly weaves in the fascinating history of the trail (bears, disasters and all) and leaves the reader wanting more. Best of all, he has Katz! What a great hiking companion. I sympathized with him at every painful, gasping step. More cream soda! This is a great book for anyone who has ever been in the woods or thought about it. Makes you want to put on your pack and take a hike!
Rating: 
Summary: Everyman (and woman) on the trail
Review: Poor Bryson he couldn't meet everyone's expectations, not even his own. I liked it but then I'm not a marathon hiker, qualified naturalist, or adverse to reading a person's opinions on the National Park and Forest Services. Other of his books were funnier, to me, but I burst out in embarrassing guffaws on the bus when he hit his kicker line discussing the supposedly extinct Eastern Mountain Lion. It was an entertaining, thoughtful book and I think an honest depictation of what a weekend recreationalist might experience on the trail. It was wonderful meeting up with Stephen Katz again. If I were to run across Bryson and Katz on the trail, I think I would do a Mary Ellen. I wouldn't be as loquacious, I'd be gasping for air.
Rating: 
Summary: He didn't walk the whole trail!
Review: This is not a GUY book; worse, it is a real let-down. Bryson does give a good story of the places he does reach and I couldn't help laughing at the antics of Bryson and his buddy, Katz. But he gives up on the trail too early and he even gave up on the last 100 mile stretch.
Rating:
Summary: long live Katz
Review: Sure, this reader dove into this one expecting to read about disease, malnutrition, loss of sanity, bear attack and all the other hardships which come with hiking the AT. Instead Bryson serves up a real nice alternative story. In the end I didn't here the trail calling my name, I found myself compelled to drive to that ghost town with the underground coal fires.
Rating: 
Summary: way over rated, should be about 2 stars
Review: this book is way over rated, the hiking was nice, but we really didnt need to know so much history, that we really didnt care about, sorry but i cannot recommend thie one
Rating:
Summary: Dry humor and lots of useful information
Review: Bryson's book is one of several dozen that thru-hikers (or would-be thru-hikers) have written about the Appalachian Trail. What distinguishes his book is the marvelous dry humor, refreshing self-deprecation, and abundant information about the history, geology, and ecology of the areas he visited. Of all the books about the trail, this one is by far the most entertaining and the best piece of writing. I would not recommend the book highly for the general reader, but for someone interested in hiking or the Appalachian Trail, it's a must-read (IMHO).
Rating:
Summary: miss that ol' style
Review: I'm a real big fan of Bill Bryson, and have read most of his books, including such pearls as Neither Here Nor There, which I've read more than once. So, when this book came out I was really looking forward to reading it, but what happened to that ol' Bill's wit and zesty humour? Nevertheless, it's a book that makes us think about how we are destroying our forests. But he sure could have written it with that wicked sense of humour of his. I miss the that ol' style...
Rating:
Summary: Cheated is how I felt when I read A Walk in the Woods.
Review: Cheated is how I felt when I read A Walk in the Woods. Where were the "wildly funny" parts? At p.135 I re-read the misleading blurbs on the back of the Black Swan paperback. It wasn't about "2,200 miles." I wanted Bryson and Katz to conclude they had hiked on the trail rather than "hiked the trail" since Bryson covered only 39.5% (it seemed a lot fewer miles in the book, day-hikes included). Thus he had more to say about his general fitlessness, in-town layovers, trail history, bears and flora, and day hikes. However, as much as I regret he and Katz--bumbling twinkies, littering the trial with excess equipment, cigarette butts, and not even finishing the last hundred to Katahdin--cheated themselves of the full experience of the trail, I admit that Bryson described a few essential, even typical moments. His wit and self-deprecating narrative made me smile and remember my own long travail. But I felt cheated because I wanted him to describe how he would have felt on Rainbow Ledges seeing Mt. Katahdin near the end of a half-year of walking in the woods. Sorry about that, old sport. You missed it. Thanks, however, for the memories.
Rating:
Summary: My anti-hero!
Review: Self-mockery, and a wry, incisive view of human beings that is always benign, make Bryson's book a laugh-aloud read and a wonderful view of both nature and Americans' interaction with it. I do wish he would use modern technology to seek out an eliminate some of his repetitious overload of adjectives and adverbs, though.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Bryson. Intelligent and insightful.
Review: I have yet to be disappointed by the writings of Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods was, as has been the case when reading other Bryson works, difficult to put down. He has managed to combine humor, as always, with informed commentary. Mr. Bryson always seems to do his homework, researching what seems to be everything anyone could want to know about the AT and things remotely related to the AT. I hope Mr. Bryson continues to write for many years to come.
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