Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, enjoyable,
Review: and interesting. The humor is a bit like Twain's European travel books. There is substance to the Bryson book, as it is a worthy adventure in my view.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been great.... BUT
Review: As an avid hiker and outdoorsman, I picked up this book for a slice-of-life look at a trail I have profound interest in. And, for the second half of the book, it wasn't bad. But I almost stopped reading it after seeing Bryson resort to cheap-shot stereotypes when it comes to the people and places of the South. Good writing should enlighten, but instead, Bryson reaches for the simplistic 'Deliverance' reference when talking about Northern Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. It cheapens his work, and makes reading difficult for anyone who knows the REALITY of the Southern Mountains.After Bryson and his companion reach Virginia, things improve a little, but never really start to soar. Anyone looking to learn anything about the AT will be disappointed, but Bryson does delve into some interesting topics about the outdoors and being outdoors. The book actually reaches its high point just before the end when an argument threatens to break up the pair of hikers, but unfortunately, it's the really the only time a good story is developed and brought to a fufilling conclusion. Like his hike in the book, Bryson takes too many short cuts and easy ways out with his writing, and what could have been an entertaining and enlightening book falls well short of the finish line.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and informative.
Review: Bill Bryson's travel writing has influenced my personal life in no small way. His 1989 book "The Lost Continent" (which I first discovered in 1996 and have since revisited many times), documenting his (mis)adventures driving cross-country in the United States, played a significant role in my own decision to hit the road and see this fascinating nation for myself. (Coincidentally, I am currently writing this review from Iowa, Bryson's birthplace and frequent target of his signature dry wit.) Having spent the greater part of his adult life abroad in England, Bryson returned to the United States with his family several years ago, settling in a small town in New Hampshire, to rediscover the land he'd left as a youth. He has since written two books about his time spent in America, one of them being "A Walk in the Woods", Bryson's account of his experiences hiking the renowned Appalachian Trail. Considered by many to be the Holy Grail of hiking trails in the United States, the Appalachian Trail runs approximately 2,100 miles long, stretching from Georgia to Maine and passing through 12 additional states along the way. Every year, hundreds of people attempt to walk the entire length of the trail from beginning to end, with only a small portion of them successfully completing the endeavor. Known as "thru-hikers", the majority of these aspiring individuals underestimate the sheer scope and arduousness of the undertaking. Most drop out well before the halfway point. Those who persevere are treated to extreme temperatures hot and cold, gruesomely harsh terrains, unrelenting winds and rainfall, a wide variety of wild predators, and some of the most awesomely scenic sights of natural beauty on earth. Bryson begins his own trek along the Appalachian Trail admittedly inexperienced and somewhat out-of-shape. Accompanied by an oafish college buddy named Katz with whom he shares a decidedly odd love-hate relationship (it often feels like Katz's sole purpose in being there is so that Bryson will always have someone to make fun of), the two set off with full backpacks on what promises to be a journey filled with humor, wit, insight and adventure. Along the way they encounter other hikers (some highly eccentric in disposition), endure the hardships of bad weather, visit neighboring small towns, and cover more ground on foot in a scant few weeks than most of us will in an entire year. Eventually they end their first phase of the hike in northern Virginia and part separate ways. Bryson continues to investigate key points along the trail in short spurts over the next several months, embarking on daytrips and brief overnighters in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New England. In the last section of the book Bryson and Katz reunite to tackle the final hundred-mile stretch of the trail in Maine. Although Bryson never actually completes the entire length of the trail in true "thru-hike" fashion, he explores enough of it from enough different places to ensure that his description of the Appalachian Trial overall is valid and well-informed. If you have read any of Bryson's previous books, you will be familiar with his penchant for digressing from the main line of action to muse on various tidbits of history, factoids and trivia. In one paragraph he'll be admiring the splendid view from a mountaintop; in the next he's providing an overview of the trail's origins. Some of this information, especially when it pertains to the ecological aspects of the Appalachian Trail, is genuinely fascinating. Bryson is also well-known for his wry and witty observations about virtually everything he encounters: from the exasperating science of shopping for hiking gear, to the shoddy upkeep of certain portions of the trail. Though not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of his other works, there are plenty of moments scattered throughout the book that will inspire a hearty chuckle. He also does an admirable job of conveying the beauty and grandeur, not to mention the less attractive elements, of the Appalachian Trail. Although you never obtain a true sense of actually "being there" from reading his descriptive passages, Bryson nevertheless provides an adequate depiction of what it must feel like to embark on this epic journey. There is something agreeably comforting in reading a book by Bryson, who comes across as a friendly, educated, next-door-neighbor type of guy who would make a fine traveling companion. His informal, chatty writing style is ideally suited for a warm, lazy summer's afternoon sitting on the front porch with a glass of lemonade by your side. It's a pleasant, light reading experience that provides equal doses of laughter and insight. Although "A Walk in the Woods" is not particularly romantic, it is affectionate and sentimental in the right places, and may very well inspire me to someday throw on a pair of hiking boots and head off for a little 2,100-mile walk of my own.
Rating:
Summary: How does that work?
Review: As an outdoors person I kept waiting for the triumph, the agony and the glory. Well it wasn't there. I am disappointed by a book about hiking the AT by someone who never hiked the AT. There was some nice background but that all came from research done in the library on on the net. After spending my life in the outdoors I have encountered plenty of humor but very little on this trip.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Though Slow Toward the End
Review: This book gets off to a wonderful start. You'll blast through the first 100 pages. After that though, the particular anecdote doesn't pique your interest, it can be hard going.
Rating: 
Summary: A Walk in th Woods/by BillBryson
Review: He starts his book in New Hampshire where he discovers a sign that states Appalachian Mountains. These mountains extend from Maine to Georgia. It covers 14 states and brings a great surprise to all who did not know that Appalchians covered so much territory. (It reminds me of finding out about the head waters of the Missouri River starting in the state of Montana.)
The book has a few laughs,tell a few facts,and pulls you in.
The book should be titled "A stroll in the woods" not a walk,since it does not go far on the Appalachian Trail nor does it go far enough in showing the riches or vast array of life that exists there.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother
Review: This book reads like the author was assigned by his boss to write about the trail. The unoriginal ... jokes about his chubby friend and carrying everything but the kitchen sink in his backpack are mildly humorous at first, then just get tedious after repeating them ad nauseum. To complete his 'assignment' he adds in filler in the form of factual/historical dialog that reads as if it were taken straight from park brochures. I was really disappointed in this book, considering the acclaim it has received.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough material for a book
Review: For the first 40 pages or so, I was laughing out loud and thinking I'd found a new favorite writer. As Bryson is planning the trip and buying equipment, he's hilarious. The book starts to sag not long after he and his hiking companion Katz hit the trail, but it still held my interest for a while. It wasn't until page 103, when he's describing the town of Gatlinburg and quoting from one of his own, earlier books, that I started to sense this book was heading for trouble. There just isn't much going on here. They soon give up the trail and Bryson is determined to hike portions of it alone. He drives through Pennsylvania, thinking he'll do a few hikes but his heart doesn't seem to be in it. He ends up in Centralia, where coal mine fires forced everyone to abandon the town. This is an important and fascinating story, but doesn't belong in this book. Centralia is not on the AT but that didn't seem to matter. He was in his car and could go anywhere if it might fill a few pages. And fill pages is what he seemed to be trying to do. Next he goes home to New Hampshire and takes a series of day hikes that aren't even worth mentioning. I started to wonder why he bothered writing a book when he didn't have enough material to fill it. In my imagination I kept seeing two words, book contract, flashing in neon letters. I kept imagining the author facing a blank sheet of paper and going out on yet another day hike looking for a story to fill out a few more pages. When the agony of the writing process comes through on the page, reading is no longer a pleasure. This is all the sadder because it's clear that he is a talented and funny writer, and this could have been a great book. The sections where he gives background information such as the history of the Appalachian Trail, and how the original vision was not fulfilled are quite good. And the last part of the book, when he and Katz hike the end of the AT in Maine (when something finally happens) actually makes the middle part of the book worth slogging through. It is both funny and poignant. If only more of the book could have been like this.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I have read this book through SEVEN times and I still laugh my head off at the antics of Bill and his friend as they hike the trail.It is a excellent book that I plan to carry and read again on the trail when I hike it in 2004. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to everyone. Whether planning to hike the trail or not. I would not recommend it as reading for young children as there is some cussing in it.
Rating:
Summary: No pain no gain
Review: After reading most of Bryson's books I think I like this one the least because it's not as gut busting funny as the others but thats because it's different. ViVa la difference!
I love that of all the people Bryson takes with him on this trip is his old buddy Katz. I felt like the fly on the wall during their conversations with themselves and others.
Meeting up with that woman Mary Ellen was too funny and Katz's remarks in her direction were a gas.
I enjoyed the background info he added to their nature "road trip".
They treat the AT like it was route 66.
I was surprised to read about the seeming underbelly of the Nation that is the Forest Service.
Being from PA, I was intriqued by his lack of good comments on my state but then again in my travels I have had similar experiences. You just keep going.
When they got seperated I honestly wondered if they'd ever find each other again. I had to resist reading ahead!!!
Account of this book I want to visit Centralia and see it for myself. There is no danger of me hiking the AT but for the time it took for me to read the book, the thought sure crossed my mind.
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