A Walk In The Woods: The World's Funniest Travel Writer Takes a Hike

Bill Bryson

Mar 2010 · Bryson Book 8 · Random House

About this ebook

'Short of doing it yourself, the best way of escaping into nature is to read a book like A Walk in the Woods.' New York Times

In the company of his friend Stephen Katz (last seen in the bestselling Neither Here nor There), Bill Bryson set off to hike the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world.

Ahead lay almost 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats, rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, disease-bearing tics, the occasional chuckling murderer and - perhaps most alarming of all - people whose favourite pastime is discussing the relative merits of the external-frame backpack.

Facing savage weather, merciless insects, unreliable maps and a fickle companion whose profoundest wish was to go to a motel and watch The X-Files, Bryson gamely struggled through the wilderness to achieve a lifetime's ambition - not to die outdoors.

A Walk in the Woods is now a major feature film starring Robert Redford, Emma Thompson and Nick Offerman.

Ratings and reviews

I picked up this book thinking it would be a funny light read. While it is written humourously, the book drags after the initial chapters. I expected it to be a personal memoir but it frequently lost track of itself. I made many attempts to get back to it but nothing kept me hooked. So out of sheer frustration, I left it. I may get back to it later..sometime.

I first read this book in a hardback copy that I got from my dad after reading a few of his other books. It is a amazing book. Really good read with good bits of humor and if you have read any of his other books then the comical relationship between him and his mate Stephen catz is hilarious. Overall a good read but disappointed he didn't make the whole trail although still a very big achievement!!!

The first half was interesting, while the two were together and again towards the end. A book worth reading but not Bill's best.

About the author

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.
Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005–2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.