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 Very Funny Hike
Review: Take a walk with Bill Bryson and forget teh problems of the day. This book is full of quick with and descriptive narrative and _ my favorite _ a heatlthy dose od self-depreciating humor.
While I would guess this book falls into the travel essays section of your local bookstore, it has much broader appeal. Bryson does a wonderful job of taking of describing the funner parts of a very gruelling walk and takes us inside his head just long enough to let us wonder what this out of shape middle-aged guy was thinking when he started this trip?
When reading some of the laugh-out-loud passages I could not help but think: "I bet it would be a blast to spend a day hiking with this guy."
I highly recommend this for a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: "A Ramble with Some Woods Thrown In"
Review: I found this while browsing the local discount book store. I love to hike, and I love to hear and read about trail experiences, so I picked it up. The back cover spoke mostly of his experiences while hiking the trail, with a little AT history and environmental concerns thrown in. Unfortunately, it is precisely the opposite. There are some humorous moments and interesting trail episodes, but I often found my eyes glossing over while attempting to get through several rantings about the forest service, environmental contamination, acid rain, trail history, etc. In one tangent, he even complains that the AT doesn't go through enough towns, and that hiking the trail doesn't give a full experience of the local culture. (I am obviously under the mistaken impression that one of the purposes of hiking the trail is to get away from culture.) I was disappointed that he didn't describe his actual hike in more detail - but on the other hand, he didn't hike the majority of the trail, so he probably did convey the extent of what he experienced. My impression is that Bryson had high aspirations to hike the AT, but once he found himself actually on the trail, he realized that he didn't like it - and like most aspiring AT thru-hikers, he quit. But he still had to write a book...
Rating: 
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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