Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Walk for the Armchair Traveler
Review: In the words of Bill Bryson he "happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town." So begins a complex love/hate relationship with the Appalachian Trail that is equal parts hilarious travelogue and cautionary tale. Tightly written and wonderfully descriptive, A Walk in the Woods is the story of Bill and his sidekick Stephan Katz. These two are not your typical outdoorsman but two relatively sedentary middle-aged men who undertake one of the most challenging hikes on the continent armed with little more than a backpack full of Little Debbie cakes (soon abandoned)and the vague notion of hiking the two-thousand odd miles of the trail in one season. It's not spoiling the story to tell you they don't even come close to meeting that goal, but the story is so rich and so fun it helps demonstrate that the joy is really in the journey, not the destination. I loved this book for its honest and direct tone and the way Bryson kept me laughing from page one. A great read for a rainy winter afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Read Bill Bryson
Review: Did I read the same book as some of the other reviewers? Bill Bryson is far more than a "competent" writer. He is an extremely good one. Bryson finished 40% of the AT (not "a tiny portion"). Some of it he hated, some he loved. His writing is terrific. The characters are terrific. The humour is terrific. Katz is funny and well drawn. There is the tension of extreme weather and getting lost. The history of several venues along the trail are well drawn out. Some are not flattering, nor should they be. Bryson is outspoken about what he likes and dislikes. He damns the damming of America, its cheesy tourist traps, the degradation of the temperate Eastern forest, and the lack of funds the U.S. spends on wild places -- good for him. He doesn't give the impression he hates progress, or highways, some of which he actually likes. He dislikes yuppie hikers and pretension -- again, good for him. At the end, Bryson makes clear his ambivalence about the whole process of a long slog through the trees, punctuated by moments which are truly exalted. Having covered a lot of the same ground as he did, I understand exactly what he means. I'd pretty much given up reading non-fiction for the past 10 years. This is the kind of book that can bring me back.
Rating: 
Summary: Moe and Curley Take a Hike
Review: After I read "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" I decided that Mr. Bryson was one of those rare writers that could teach and entertain at the same time. Unfortunately he fell a little short in both areas with this effort. The humor was clever but just too caustic for a southern boy like myself. He would readily admit the shortcomings of both he and his goofy companion but just as readily go into "Deliverance" jokes about every person he met on and off the trail, even taking a cheap shot at the Boyscouts! He did a fairly good job explaining the challenges of hiking the AT but had too many wanderings into political musings about the environment, the government, etc, etc, etc. Interesting read, just not great
Rating:
Summary: Uncovers some effects of civilization...
Review: Though his book isn't the best book I've read in a while, it was entertaining and did make me walk to start hiking for often. The parts a appreciated most however dealt with the US Forest Service, logging, road building, acid rain, and hunting owls, lions, and bears for bounties. He cites some good sources for information on the destruction of the forests of North America, but fails to deal with the destruction of the planet as a global phenomenon. He also fails to connect the problem with choices being made by people--especially people just like him. While I learned something from his story, there is much more to be said about the violence of our culture and the demise of the natural world.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read for Someone with Experience
Review: I read the book before I started backpacking and used Bryson's descriptions for making my decision on where to tackle a section of the AT. I went back later on to read it again, and enjoyed it more the second time. If you have gone through the same sorts of experiences on the AT, met similar people, been in the same areas, and delt with the same problems, its an excellent read. Granted it slows down in part two, but if you're interested in some history and background of the AT it doesn't matter. Part one a must read for those who would like a taste of the AT. Bryson is honest and at times very hilarious about his experiences and lack of skill. You should not read it if backpacking or the Appalachian Trail is of no interest to you.
Rating:
Summary: Experiencing a very special part of America
Review: Subtitled, "Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail", the author, Bill Bryson, brings the reader along with him, a novice hiker, who, at the age of 44, has just returned to the United States after 20 years in England. He's been a journalist for British publications and has written several travel memoirs. Now it was time to experience a part of the America he left behind by hiking this famous trail. The Appalachian Trail consists of 2,100 rugged miles along the east coast and passes through 14 states from Georgia to Maine, built with the labor from public works in the 1930s. It has been re-routed slightly over the years and has never achieved the ideal which included many comfortable rest areas. Environmental disasters have taken its toil as well as the blunders and shortsightedness of governmental organizations. But it still exists as a challenge for hikers who often hike just a part of the trail. With a companion from his college days, the overweight and sometimes blundering Stephen Katz from Des Moines, Bryson starts out in Georgia with the plan of completing the entire trail. They know this is a challenge for them. Both of them are novices, and with a sense of depreciating humor, he shares his personal point of view with the reader -- his apprehensions, his fatigue, the people he meets, the places he visits and his companionship with his friend. Not is all deep woods, however, and their infrequent sojourns to towns where they can occasionally go to a restaurant and sleep in a motel are welcome relief before they pick up their packs again and once more walk all day and sleep in their tents at night. And then there is the part of the trail where they must sleep in rat-infested shelters with other hikers and well as weather conditions that include a roaring blizzard and icy conditions. My son-in-law has hiked part of the Appalachian trail and gave me this book. It gave me insight into some of the experiences he must have had. And it also made me yearn for an outdoor adventure myself. But whether you are a skilled outdoors person, or an armchair traveler like me, this book is a wonderful read.
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Summary: Benchley on the Appalachian Trail
Review: This is the first book of Bryson's I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading them all! Bill Bryson reminds me very much of Robert Benchley, although it's difficult to imagine Benchley on the trail with a big pack. My very favorite parts of the book were when Katz and Bryson were hiking together; I missed Katz when he dropped out for a while to work in Des Moines. While missing Katz, though, I enjoyed Bryson's pull-no-punches discussion of the fate of the AT, and the ham-handed role the national park service has played in its existence.
Rating:
Summary: informative and humorous
Review: Depending on which of Bryson's works I am reading, I am alternately delighted/entertained or sickened/annoyed. I have realized in the course of reading his catalog of books that he seems more in his element with some subject matter than others. Because I so despised his European tour book, I expected to hate this book, too, but I read it anyway, perhaps just to fuel my desire for complaining. Bryson's style here is informative and obviously well-researched, informed heartily with his own anecdotes of trail life, arduous, rewarding and sometimes humorous.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: I enjoyed this book because it combined two things i like a lot: hiking, and sarcastic wit. Sure, Bryson exaggerates...it's what a lot of good authors do in order to make a text more lively. It's ALL Mark Twain ever did (and there are some other comparisons between the two authors and their writing styles).
As anyone who has hiked all or portions of the AT can tell you, for the most part it is pretty mundane and repetitive. Not much changes in the scenery from mile to mile, or peak to peak. Bryson even says so in one of the early chapters: you get up, make coffee, strap on your gear, do 10 miles, unpack, camp, cook dinner, then do it all over again. It's really not all that exciting, but Bryson manages to make it interesting. I don't mean to say that nature and hiking can't be thrilling; the descriptions of the locations and personalities are wonderful. But like he says near the end of the book, how many mountains do we need to see?
Those who are looking for an indispensible trail guide - or a "true life" memoir of a great acheivement - should look elsewhere. Armchair woodsmen and woodswomen will enjoy a lot of good laughs and some very human moments. Katz is a great character. And you'll pick up some very interesting tidbits along the way. It certainly made me want to thru-hike the Trail.
Rating:
Summary: Funny first half...
Review: Three and a half stars would be more appropriate. I read this book as a part of a book club and thought it was an hilarious start. His friend Katz and their adventures were laugh-out-loud but just past the middle of the book Bryson travels alone and much of the humor subsides for Cliff Clavin-like tidbits.
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