A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

Bill Bryson

Sep 2010 · Sold by Crown

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The classic chronicle of a “terribly misguided and terribly funny” (The Washington Post) hike of the Appalachian Trail, from the author of A Short History of Nearly Everything and The Body
 
“The best way of escaping into nature.”—The New York Times 
 
Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes—and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings. 
 
For a start there’s the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson’s acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America’s last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is a modern classic of travel literature.
 
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Ratings and reviews

After reading nearly 60% of A Walk in the Woods I'm beyond highly disappointed. 216 pages and I've decided this book is barely about a walk in ANY woods and I can't go another sentence. Too many figures and numbers about every other place, event or organization surrounding the stretch of the Appalachian Trail. The author constantly complains about the Forest and Parks service over and over. Offering the notion that the Forest and Parks service is plain evil and plain careless.. There is very little storyline and events with the characters themselves. The story line constantly dips in and out. Loosing actual focus on the hikers and their journey. I've never gave up on something this much and felt so glad!

It's a shame that the author couldn't get one page out of his word processor without using a four-letter word. He should remember that, "Cursing is the crutch of the conversational cripple!" For example, who is the more successful comedian, Bill Cosby or Chris Rock? When I came upon the second travesty on the same page, his insistence on using what otherwise held promise as an enjoyable read as a soapbox to trumpet the questionable theory of "Global Warming," I knew I had to click elsewhere.

Splendidly insightful and a captivating read. Overall a good narrative describing many critical aspects of the Appalachian Trail, but it did get a little dry occasionally.

About the author

Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and A Short History of Nearly Everything (which won the Aventis Prize in Britain and the Descartes Prize, the European Union's highest literary award). He was chancellor of Durham University, England's third oldest university, from 2005 to 2011, and is an honorary fellow of Britain's Royal Society.