This is the first Bill Bryson book that I bought and read. Since buying this book, I have also bought and read his other books - Neither Here Nor There, Notes From a Small Island, and Made In America. It turns out that A Walk in the Woods is his very best. It has a lot of hilarious moments in it. I really enjoy his brand of humor. Living out West, I didn't even know about the existence of the Appalachian Trail until I read this book. Besides being a great read, I learned a lot from this book, since Bill Bryson also tells you about how the trail came into being, and also tells you many interesting tidbits as you travel with him along the trail. Here are some of the things that I learned from the book:The Appalachian Trail runs over 2,100 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, crossing through 14 states along the way. The Appalachian Trail was formally completed on August 14, 1937.
"Every year between early March and late April, about 2,000 hikers set off from Springer Mountain, most of them intending to go all the way to Katahdin. No more than 10 percent actually make it. Half don't make it past central Virginia, less than a third of the way. A quarter get no farther than North Carolina, the next state. As many as 20 percent drop out the first week." (P.31)
"About 240 million acres of America's forests are owned by the government. The bulk of this - 191 million acres, spread over 155 parcels of land - is held by the U.S. Forest Service under the designations of National Forests, National Grasslands, and National Recreation Areas. The Forest Service is truly an extraordinary institution. A lot of people, seeing that word forest in the title, assume it has something to do with looking after trees. In fact, no - thought that was the original plan... In fact, mostly what the Forest Service does is build roads. I am not kidding. There are 378,000 miles of roads in America's national forests. That may seem like a meaningless figure, but look at it this way - it is eight times the total mileage of America's interstate highway system. It is the largest road system in the world in control of a single body. The Forest Service has the second highest number of road engineers of any government institution on the planet. It is the avowed aim of the U.S. Forest Service to construct 580,000 miles of additional forest road by the middle of next century.
The reason that the Forest Service builds these roads, quite apart from the deep pleasure of doing noisy things in the woods with big yellow machines, is to allow private timber companies to get to previously inaccessible stands of trees....
Eighty percent of its leasing arrangements lost money, often vast amounts. In one typical deal, the Forest Service sold hundred-year-old lodgepole pines in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho for about $2 each after spending $4 per tree surveying the land, drawing up contracts, and, of course, building roads. Between 1989 and 1997, it lost an average of $242 million a year - almost $2 billion all told, according to the Wilderness Society." (P.46-48)
" In constant dollars, the Park Service budget is $200 million dollars a year less than it was a decade ago. In consequence, even as visitor numbers have soared - from 79 million in 1960 to almost 270 million today - campsites and interpretation centers have been shut, warden numbers slashed, and essential maintenance deferred to a positively ludicrous degree. By 1997, the repair backlog for the national parks had reached $6 billion. All quite scandalous. But consider this. In 1991, as its trees were dying, its buildings crumbling, its visitors being turned away from campgrounds it could not afford to keep open, and its employees being laid off in record numbers, the National Park Service threw a seventy-fifth anniversary party for itself in Vail, Colorado. It spent $500,000 on the event...." (P.94)
Rating: 
Summary: A Walk Becomes A Drag
Review: Everyone told me how "hilarious" this book was. I decided to read it. The first half of the book is SO funny that you will probably have a hard time not laughing out loud. Note: Do not read it alone, in public! :o)
Then you get to the second half of the book. What starts out as a comedic "average joe" adventure turns into a political statement. Blah, blah, blah. As if someone else wrote the first part of the book, Mr. Bryson decides to venture into coma-inducing historical facts, all the while giving his dry opinion of the government and park service. ZZZZZ ... oh, sorry. I dozed off just thinking about it.
If you read this book, I recommend doing what Bryson and Katz did (warning: SPOILER). Only complete half and then give up.
Rating: 
Summary: Journey Is Destination
Review: Bryson has a way with words that brings out true events that are told like a descriptive, informative, funny story. He has a very expansive vocabulary and knows how to use it by brilliantly placing his words to convey his thoughts and experiences.
THE WALK THROUGH NATURE
The characters are brought to life that he and his friend "Katz" encounter. The type of folks that hike the Appalachian Trail are unique individuals in general. Bryson looks into the their motivations, lives, and the mutual experiences he has with the folks he runs into on the AT, as well as the people in the small communities they visit just off the trail. A lot of historical background, logistics, and politics about the AT are presented. Who created it, why and how it was done, and the philosophy of the AT. It is the longest continuous trail in the world.
The author did a lot of homework and gives statistical notes and expository information on animal species, flora and fauna, the environment, plate techtonics, geology of the rocks, bureaucratic policies, and ways to keep from gettin' eaten by a bear. There are a lot of vivid depictions of the woody places they walk through as well as the mentality such an undertaking brings to one psychologically.
THE GOVERNMENT STUPIDITY
As usual, when it comes to government....
For its celebration of its 75th anniversary, the National Park Service lavishly spent $500,000 taxpayer dollars on its one and only party in Vail, Colorado. At the same time it was slashing budgets, closing facilities, and laying-off park Rangers. In addition to this egregious act there numerous other examples of this disgraceful bureaucratic organization, that actually destroys the environment of U.S. national parks instead of preserving them.
Also: the United States National Forest has 378,000 miles of roads in American's National Forests. It is eight times the total mileage of the entire U.S. interstate system. It is also the largest road system in the world controlled by a single body. The Forest Service has the second largest number of road engineers of any government organization on Earth. By the middle of the 21st Century, the goal of this bureaucracy is to construct 580,000 miles of roads in total.
Sound like typical government logic? Creating jobs. Keeping jobs for those already on the federal payroll. Getting more funds from taxpayers and wastefully spending them to justify the organization's existence. And more importantly, to continually request for increased budget appropriations. When it comes to government, even a pine tree isn't safe.
The U.S. Forest Service is in cahoots with--you guessed it--the timber industry. 150 million acres of forest is reserved by the Forst Service for the timber industry to clear cut and profit from. It is a fact that in the 1980s, the U.S. Forest Service was the only organization in the U.S. that was cutting more trees down that it was replacing.
In one business deal, the National Forest service sold 100 year old lodgepole pines in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho for $...dollars each. But it spent $...dollars per tree in survees, contract writing, and--yes--building roads to get to them.
Again, when it comes to government, (and corporations) even a pine tree isn't safe.
Rating: 
Summary: An Engaging "Walk"
Review: I would be honored to walk the trail with Bill Bryson. He takes his place as an Everyman trying to overcome the trail with middling results.
The best parts are not about his experiences on the AT. I enjoyed his shopping spree for camping equipment (and subsequent sticker shock) and his side trip to Centralia, Pennsylvania, the city that puffs like a dragon.
I was left feeling that if he could do it, why couldn't I?
Rating:
Summary: it's flu season, buy this book
Review: Yesterday I was home sick with the flu and all I wanted to do was lay in bed, but I couldn't sleep so I wanted to read. I couldn't find a single book in my collection that I had not read or didn't seem a bit "imposing" in my current state. I went up to my son's room (he's 18 not 6) and found this book on his shelf. What a godsend. A book that can make you giggle out loud in between the moans of the flu is a wonderful book. I needed to read something that didn't require me to constantly think about the plot or which character was who and this was perfect. I had my boston terriers in bed with me (as always) and they would periodically come out from under the covers to check why I was cracking up one minute and hanging over the bucket the next.
Get this book, put it aside for when you have the flu. It's a lifesaver and better than any medicine. I was also amazed by how much I actually learned reading this. Thank you Bill Bryson. And Katz too.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but it contains a lot of fiction
Review: Bryson captures some of the whimsy of those who seek to hike the entire length of the Appalchian Trail. Unlike most books on the subject, this narrative is not entirely a factual account. Although some thruhikers discount the value of book because of the lack of authenticity, it is still an enjoyable read. None of his tales are larger than those told by fellow hikers.
The abridged audiobook version is read by Bryson and is immensely enjoyable. His mixture of mid-Western, English, and New England accents adds to the enchantment of the story.
Don't take the book too seriously, and enjoy the armchair adventure. Then go for a real walk on one of America's treasures.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Journey
Review: Another book club choice and one that I normally would not have chosen. The list of travel memoirs I have read is small but I was pleasantly surprised by Bill Bryson's novel about his walk through the Appalachian Trail. As it turns out, the walk itself becomes secondary to the self introspection and relationship Bryson has with his travel partner Katz. What surprised me the most about this story is how funny it was. I laughed out loud on several occasions. Bryson writes with a carefree style and captures the crux of situations in such a humorus way. He describes his huffing and puffing out shape, bad attitude buddy Katz in hysterical fashion. Yet, far from being a joke, the reader comes to cherish Katz and the growth he has from his journey. The interactions with other walkers on the trail and their excursions into nearby towns are just as funny. Bryson himself reveals his insights into his motivations, musings and failings in a realistic approachable manner. Not only does he do justice to the beautiful scenery of our country, but he provides the reader with environmental information to ponder without being overly critical. Although not a literary masterpiece, I certianly enjoyed Bill Bryson's adventure and will not hesitate to read another tale of his.
Rating:
Summary: Bryson tackles his biggest hike
Review: This is a funny, informative and even poignant book. I think In a Sunburned Country is funnier, because he doesn't spare the hilarious excess in describing Australia and its inhabitants; he treats his fellow countrymen far more gently. His hiker friend Katz is just plain wonderful, a cream-soda-loving everyman facing the American wilderness. Really delightful.
As usual, Bryson's book has a bibliography -- he's been reading up on the AT -- and you will learn lots about the AT and its flora and fauna, and even political history.
I'm sad now that I finished the book. I'm looking forward to my next Bryson work.
