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highly recommended |
One of the Best Books I ever Read 
A laugh-out loud tale of Bill Bryson as he hikes the Appalachian Trail. This was one of my first adult-type books my mom let me read. A hiker myself, I have read this book three times and it never fails to amuse me. The experiences listed are realistic for hiking on the AT, and Bryson's unique writing style as, in all of his books, never lets the reader down.
Probably Bryson's Best Book
I bought this book as a replacement for a lost borrowed book. I had started reading it in Phoenix when I lost it. But the few pages I read there prompted me to buy this book from Amazon when I returned home. (And yes, I did return the new book to the lender.)
A MUST for any past, present or future hiker
Heard A WALK IN THE WOODS, written and read by Bill Bryson
It is the true tale of the author's attempt to walk the 2,100 Appalachian
Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine . . . although he ultimately
was not successful in completing the entire AT (as it is called), it wasn't
for lack of trying.
You'll find yourself actually laughing out loud at much of his
account . . . also, you'll shake your head in disbelief about his
having to deal with his walking companion: an out-of-shape
Stephen Katz who thinks nothing of discarding provisions in
order to lighten his backpack.
In addition, Bryson makes history come alive as he describes
the evolution of the trail . . . he further makes you appreciate
the need to maintain such areas and in doing so, takes
the National Park Service to task for not doing enough.
Much of the writing is brilliant, such as this passage describing what
it feels like when you've finally reached one of your goals:
* When, after ages and ages, you finally reach the tell-tale world
of truly high ground, where the chilled air smells of pine sap and
the vegetation is gnarled and tough and wind-bent, and push through
to the mountain's open pinnacle, you are, alas, past caring. You sprawl
face down on a sloping pavement of granite, pressed to the rock by the
weight of your pack, and lie there for some minutes, reflecting in a
distant, out-of-body way that you have never before looked this closely
at lichen, not in fact looked this closely at anything in the natural world
since you were four years old and had your first magnifying glass. Finally,
with a weary puff, you roll over, unhook yourself from your pack, struggle
to your feet and realize--this is the barest fraction of what you will traverse
before you've finished.
Bryson's use of dialogue was equally impressive, as evidenced by this
hilarious account of what happened when Bryson and Katz had their first
encounter with a bear:
* "Have you get anything sharp at all?"
He thought for a moment. "Nail clippers."
I made a despairing face. "Anything a little more vicious than that?
Because, you see, 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."
"A deer then."
I nervously threw a stick at the animal, and it didn't move, whatever
it was. A deer would have bolted. This thing just blinked once and
kept staring.
I reported this to Katz.
"Probably a buck. They're not so timid. Try shouting at it."
I cautiously shouted at it: "Hey! You there! Scat!" The creature blinked
again, singularly unmoved. "You shout," I said.
"Oh, you brute, go away, do!" Katz shouted in merciless imitation. "Please
withdraw at once, you horrid creature."
"F*ck you," I said and lugged my tent right over to his. I didn't know what
this would achieve exactly, but it brought me a tiny measure of comfort
to be nearer to him.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm moving my tent."
"Oh, good plan. That'll really confuse it."
Reading A WALK IN THE WOODS will motivate any past, present
or future hiker to check out the AT . . . as for me, I think I'll take a
pass . . . yet I will commend you, if you give it a try, and I'll look
forward to reading about your efforts as I bask in the comforts of home.
5 Stars for Part 1 & 3 1/2 Stars for Part 2 
There are 2 parts to this book. Part 1 is awesome! It is a great story of 2 men hiking part of the Appalachian Trail and the ups and downs they had doing it. It's funny, witty and well written. Part 2 however lags a bit. The author drives part of the trail and walk parts of it in day trips, not nearly as exciting as part 1. The only thing in my opinion that save part 2 is the history and facts the author talks about. Especially about Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap. Overall I gave it 4 stars. It could have been so much better if he hiked the whole thing, but overall was still a very good read.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
A Walk in the Woods is a laugh-out-loud account of an outrageously rugged hike by a beloved comic author. Bill Bryson decided in 1996 to walk the 2,100-mile Appalachian trail. Winding from Georgia to Maine, this uninterrupted 'hiker's highway' sweeps through the heart of some of America's most beautiful and treacherous terrain. Bryson risked snake bite and hantavirus to trudge up unforgiving mountains, plod through swollen rivers, and yearn for cream sodas and hot showers. This amusingly ill-conceived adventure brings Bryson to the height of his comic powers, but his acute eye also observes an astonishing landscape of silent forests, sparkling lakes, and other national treasures that are often ignored or endangered. The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson's hilarious first travel book, chronicled a trip in his mother's Chevy around small town America. Since then, he has written several more about the UK and the US, including notable bestsellers, A Walk in the Woods, I'm A Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country and, most recently, A Short History of Nearly Everything.
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based on 58 reviews
