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Summary: Bryson walks 2100 miles and gives plenty of smiles!
Review: In just 288 pages, Bill Bryson, the best contemporary travel writer, takes you on a 2100 mile walk along the Appalachian Trail. Using a witty pen and an informative style you are drawn into the history and geography of America's longest walking trail. The characters encountered on the way are real and Bill's traveling companion, his old college pal Stephen Katz - an anti hero if ever there was, allows all of us 'coach potatoes' to endure the walk and know that we could do it if we wanted to!
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Summary: A not-quite-so-silly Bryson but still laugh-out-loud funny
Review: My wife hates when I read Bryson on the bus because I laugh like a fool at his antics which worries the other passengers. But like his other books ("Made In America," "Lost Continent," "Tales From a Small Island," etc.) A Walk in the Woods is also painstakingly researched. Lots of fascinating data about the famed AT trail, some of it a bit mind-numbing. But Bryson is smart enough to know when he needs to stop teaching and start entertaining and so the book leaves readers with the satisfying feeling of being educated as well as entertained. Bryson also builds compelling cases about the ineptitude of the National Parks Service and the need for better conservation practices across the U.S. This book is like candy. I read it over the weekend and was sorry when it was finished.
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Summary: Ready to hit the trail
Review: I've always had an interest in hiking the Appalachian trail, as I spend as much of my free time as possible hiking. After reading this, I want to get out and start more than ever. I read "Lost Continent" several years ago, and enjoyed it. When I saw " Walk In The Woods", I knew I had to give it a try. A good balance of entertainment, history, and environmental facts. I did find the second half a little bit slower than the beginning, but overall I really enjoyed it. Definitly one I will pass on to my hiking friends.
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Summary: A hilarious comedy of sorts
Review: I've only recently discovered Bryson, and his dry wit and hilarious observations make me feel like we've been friends for years. His 'adventures' with Katz are comical. This audio was really enjoyable - Bryson's a card! Funny, witty, sarcastic - if you like that kind of writing, you'll love this book or audio!
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Summary: This book got me hooked on Bill Bryson
Review: I've never had an interest in walking or tramping and I had never heard of Bill Bryson but as native Southerner living overseas for many years I thought this was be a nice taste of home and part of the Appalachian Mountains I knew. It was much more. Bryson's way with words and off the wall sense of humor made this book a delight to read. Almost made me (at 65) want to go out and buy some hiking boots and a knapsack. But more than that wanted more Bill Bryson humor. I immediately found a copy of "Notes From a Small Island" (10) and "Lost Continent" (5). I lowered my score for this book to a 7 only after reading "Small Island", his tour around England and Scotland. It truly is his best to date, a laugh-out-loud book that we're giving to numerous friends who have travelled or lived in the England. Bryson is a unique national treasure to be shared by both the U.S. and the U.K.
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Summary: A pleasure to read and look forward to each day...
Review: There's something very special about this untamed land called the Appalachian Trail. I've never hiked it but I've always wanted to. I read the review of the book and looked forward to it. It was everything I wanted it to be. It was funny, educational, adventurous and very real. If you feel the book is too preachy on the subject of deforestation, then maybe you should take a walk in the woods yourself. I wouldn't call myself a tree-hugger, but this isn't a game anymore. Tell it like it is Bill and make us laugh along the way too.... Great book. Can't wait to read the others...
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Summary: A kinder, gentler Bryson?
Review: Bill Bryson is travelling again -- this time walking along the Appalachian Trail with his old friend Katz. The book gets off to a rollicking start -- I roared with laughter at the descriptions of hikers met along the trail. But eventually the walk begins to lose momentum and so does the book. The story of the walk gets lost in the ever-lengthening discussions of trail history and environmental issues. Indeed, at times I thought I was reading a Sierra Club save-the-wilderness tract! Bryson seems to be mellowing, as evidenced by his gentle treatment of Katz (who was ruthlessly sacrificed on the altar of hilarity in "Neither Here nor There"). To give Bryson his due, this portrait of Katz is clearly yet sensitively drawn, revealing all of Katz' shortcomings but in a way that emphasizes his humanity and his likeability. Although the second half of the book was well written and interesting, I missed the slice-em, dice-em wit that characterized the start of the book and that I have come to expect from Bill Bryson.
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Summary: Still funnier than most other things you can do legally...
Review: I picked this up the last time I was in the UK (why is an American author so difficult to find in the USA?) and devoured it during the flight back. Inevitably I had to stifle several chuckles to avoid annoying my fellow passengers and as a keen walker I quivered with embarrassment at Bryson's description of equipment geeks that populate the Appalachian Trail. Overall, this isn't as funny as "Notes from a Small Island," but it's still pretty good.
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Summary: Funny as ever, but fades in the second half
Review: I bought this for a friend at Christmas, picked it up myself before I wrapped it, and then couldn't put it down. The first half is as hilarious as Bryson can be- delightfully laconic one-liners. The relationship with Katz is well handled. The book undoubtedly sags in the second half- slower moving and less witty. The near-disaster (I will give away no more) is truly poignant, though, and not something I associate with Bryson's writing. If you have enjoyed his previous writings you will like this too, even if its initial brilliance is not sustained.
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Summary: Good book, not his best
Review: As a big fan of Bill Bryson books, I bought this one as soon as I saw it in a local bookshop. To be honest, I'm affraid this is not his best work. The author mixed too much historic and factual details in the story to make it interesting for a European reader who's never been anywhere near the AT, and doesn't plan to walk the route anytime soon. If you like Bill Bryson's other books, buy this one; it's filled with many one-line gems. If, however, this is your first encounter with Bryson, you'd better start with works such as "Neither here, nor there" or "Notes from a small island".
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