Rating: 
Summary: A Walk Through the Book
Review: " 'I can't believe you left the Little Debbies' Katz said, immediately falling behind." Such comments show the fun Bill Bryson and his companion Katz had while hiking the Appalachian Trail. I think the book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is a great book. It's fun to read because it is a pager turner. One of the best qualities of A Walk in the Woods is the plot. It was fun andsuspenseful and always kept me reading. " I sat bolt upright. Instantly every neuron in my brain was awake and dashing around frantically, like ants when you disturb their nest." Quotes like that keeps me reading. Some parts of the story were slow though, such as this, "During the last ice age it experienced what geologist calls a priglacial climate." When I read that I think, Blah Blah Blah, I don't even know what Bryson is talking about. All in the entire plot was great though. Another good quality is the character development. Both Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz are very well developed. I fee like I know both of them as if they were close friends. " Plan B was we would kill Mary Ellen and take her pop tarts."This quote from the book, makes me feel like I know how the would deal with aproblem or joke around. All the characters in this story are well developed. The last but most important quality, in my opinion, is the meaning of the book. To me the meaning was Bryson sat a goal, the he went out and accomplished it. Bryson never gave up. In really life I can use that, follow through. Set your goals and accomplish them, never quit. The last line of the book shows this is true, "I don't care what anybody says. We hiked theAppalachian Trail." The book, A Walk in the Woods is a fun and exciting book. It has well developed characters, a great plot, and a meaning you can use in real life.I strongly recommend this book. If you'll excuse me I must go take a walk in the woods.
Rating: 
Summary: Survivor
Review: The brisk wind blowing against my face, the weight of my pack pulling me down' this was how my journey began. My book " A Walk in the Woods" tells about my journey along the Appalachian Trail. It was written by me ( of course) Bill Bryson. It is filled with humor and is very informative. One good thing about this book (as I said before) is it is funny. Katz who was my partner at the begining of the trail added a lot of the humor. He was ( between huffs and puffs) making wise crack remarks about anything. He was fun to have around. Another good quaility about this book is that it gives you insight into a new world. The woods are a scary place but with this book you don't have to experience them to know this. You also get to know a place that you might never get a chance to visit. This will help you see the world better. With all things there is a "negative". In this case the "negative" is that the book has too many facts. For example did you know when the early Europeans came to the new world there were 950 million acres of woodlands. You really didn't need to know that to read the book Over all this was a great book. The humor made it enjoyable and the facts let you learn something everytime you turned the page.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Wilderness Experience
Review: Everything one can want from a memoir can be found in A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It was a fabulous book with a wide assortment of good qualities. I couldn't stop myself from constantly laughing aloud, however, it still found time to be packed full of interesting information. Bryson's insightful account of his attempt to walk the entire Appalachian Trail opened up a new world to me. The book didn't start too abruptly, however, it didn't drag on too much either. Its beginning was strong and I found myself asking many questions. The search for answers made me want to keep reading. In the first paragraph, Bryson talked about a mysterious trail that was in his backyard: "...I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town..." This immediately caused me to press on to find out more about the trail and where it led. One of the things Bryson does best in his writing is describe things. The many adjectives he uses describe the subject vividly. His wording paints a clear picture of what he is trying to say. In one part of the book, when he and his hiking partner first lay eyes on the Smoky Mountains, Bryson describes it as, "...a sudden new world of big, muscular, comparatively craggy mountains, steeped in haze and nudged at the distant margins by moody-looking clouds..." Bryson also added excitement and thrill to this book. Even though there were some boring pauses for information, he made up for it with several suspenseful moments. Once, while sleeping peacefully in their tents in the woods, the two adventurers were awakened by an unexpected guest in the middle of the night. "...there is definitely something out here.' 'It's probably just a skunk.' 'Then it's one big skunk. Its eyes are three feet off the ground.'...this thing just blinked once and kept staring." Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods is a great book explaining life through a wilderness experience. It had a wide variety of criteria required for a good book. Whether it's the vivid details, mystery, humor, or all of it combined, A Walk in the Woods is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.
Rating:
Summary: A WAlk in the Woods
Review: 2,100 miles was the amount he wanted to challenge him to do. The comic genius, Bill Bryson decided to hike the Appalachian Trail (also know as the AT) with a friend from Iowa. Bryson wrote the book A Walk in the Woods after his experience with the AT. It is a very humors book about Bryson and his city Friend, Kats, trying to survive in the woods. Bryson is in the outdoors with his slow and out-of -shape collage friend, and Bryson is hopping he will have to use his manly skills by coming face to face with a big, 6 foot bear. He tells stories about people getting attacked by bears because of snickers bars. The one thing Kats uses to keep his blood sugar up are snickers. If you want to hike the AT but are too lazy to actually hike the AT than this book is for you. This book has many interesting facts about the AT and the people that hike it. Who knows you could be one of the people in the book if u hiked the trail blind or u were over weight and decided to walk the trail to loose weight. If you are one of those people , or you want to read it while u hike the AT, or just for a laugh than this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: A great book... almost outstanding... but......
Review: Bill Bryson is a brilliant author. Bryson's book is full of wonderful stories about his hike on the AT, loaded with stories of all the crazy things that can happen (and do) along the way. He tells these stories with enough detail and description so that you can almost see each incident in your mind, and feel it in your stomach. He has a wonderful gift for story-telling. Bryson also uses the story to also convey a lot of factual information and keen observation about the world around us. He has interesting information and opinions about how our country developed, how we live today compared to the pioneers, the care of our environment, the administration of our parks and forests, etc. While several commentors have found these portions less enjoyable than the pure description of his hike, I found them fascinating. Again, Bryson does a masterful job of weaving this backdrop information into the story of the hike, and I believe the result is a very rich mixture of story and observation... with the observation making the story even better. So what is it that keeps this from being an OUTSTANDING book? Unfortunately, it's peppered with foul language. I for one would enjoy this book much more if were less coarse. I'd love to share this book with my wife and kids and enjoy it together... but no way as it is.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny at Times, Then Moving
Review: I Highly recommend this enjoyable book. Bryson's ironic sense of humor is laugh out loud funny at times, but then as the book moves on the humor becomes less frequent and an almost meloncholia sets in when his co-hiker Katz leaves for a few months. Thankfully Katz returns and it is what happens next that is most moving. Cheers to Mr. Bryson. I will indeed be reading his other books.
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Summary: A book both thrilling and disappointing..
Review: I was looking through the shelves of my local book store and picked up this book and bought it thinking I was going to read a story of humor and survival he hiked for months from Georgia to Maine. As I read to about halfway through the book I realized with dismay that this is not the case. Like many other thru-hikers on the Applacian Trail they gave up before they reached VA. If you are looking for a story about a brave soul making his way through falling rocks, snake and bear attacks, and harsh arctic winds, this is not the book you are looking for. If your looking for humor and the testing of human spirit to make it over a month's worth of hills and woods, then this is a book for you. I do have to give credit to Bryson for the excellent humor expressed. I definately laughed out loud several times reading about out of shape Bryson and his slightly unstable friend Katz make their way helplessly through the woods. This book is definately worth reading for a ton of laughs and a good time, but if you want an action-packed travel story, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Story
Review: This book was very funny as well as incredibly interesting. It's my first Bryson book but now I intend to read them all. Bryson is very intelligent as his writing reveals.
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Summary: Where's the Bear?
Review: I will never wall the AT. I probably will not even cross its' path in NH. (where I live). "A Walk in the Woods" is not hilarious but is very amusing, and educational. For those of you who share my scepticism (or ignorance), there are websites devoted to Centralia, PA. I enjoyed Bill Bryson's style of documentary that, at times, seemed like a novel. The story seemed to be leading to a dramatic climax; but it was, in fact, real life. ...now, about the cover photo...
Rating:
Summary: Educational and comical
Review: This book was fantastic. It was so hysterical that I lost track of time while reading it. It reminded me very much of the same style of writing that Jon Krakauer has. If you enjoyed books like "Eiger dreams" by Krakauer, then you will love this one. It was the first book of Brysons that I have read and I plan on getting the rest as well. It not only told the story of an unlikely pair on the Appalacian Trail, but also histories of some states, ecology lessons, small town descriptions and even a lesson on Stonewall Jackson. It is easy to PICTURE the author and his friend in all of the situations mentioned in the book, and even easier to LAUGH at them. You can't help but pity these guys and wonder exactly how they were able to make it home alive. If you are ready for a great read that perks up your day....grab this one and enjoy.
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