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

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 24,733 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 01-11-2025


Top reviews from the United States

fabulouschrissie
5.0 out of 5 stars Walking the Appalachian Trail
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2024
I have a confession to make. I'm an avid memoir reader, and travel memoirs are a favorite. I've literally read hundreds of memoirs, but I'd never read anything by Bill Bryson before. "Why not?" I hear you cry.
Well I've remedied it now. I'm not a hiker, but I love hiking books, and have read many about hiking the AT. This is up there with the best. As you would expect, it's well-written with no typos or grammatical errors, and the prose is excellent. There are also many laugh out loud moments. Strange to think that a book written in 1996 is historical, but it is definitely of its time, and that time has moved on. Some of Bryson's views seem rather archaic, viewed from the perspective of 2024, and some of his remarks are unpolitically correct. But all in all, a good read with lots of interesting facts about the Trail, and plenty of history - always a plus for me. However, if you want a book about the camaraderie of the trail, there are many better books out there. This is focused mainly on Bryson and his friend Katz, who walks the trail with him. Having said all that, I'd recommend this book.
Bobbi Sheahan
4.0 out of 5 stars Like Two Different Books
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2006
This was the first Bill Bryson book that I have read, and it definitely won't be my last.

Bryson, a middle-aged guy who is probably more of walker than the average American but no hiking or fitness god, decides to hike the Appalachian Trail, and he takes us along on the journey. In between some hilarious anecdotes about the journey and the characters he encounters on the trail, he offers a summary of some very interesting books about the AT and some amazing stories about other folks who have made the journey, along with a lot of information about nature, conservation, and the ever-inept Forest Service.

He dedicates the book "To Katz, Of Course," and it soon becomes clear why. Katz is the inept hiking buddy who volunteers to join Bryson on the AT after Bryson has read enough about bear attacks and other dangers to be appropriately daunted at the thought of facing the AT alone. When we meet Katz, it appears that will be more of a liability than an asset. So, which was he? I will leave that to you, dear reader. This is supposed to be a review, not a spoiler. I will simply say that the book is alive when Katz is present -- and by "alive," I mean that you should not have food in your mouth when you are reading because you will be laughing too hard to keep the food in your mouth...not that I'd know...

As I read, I found myself trying to cast the movie version of the book. I've decided that, if he were willing to put on a substantial amount of weight, David Arquette would be perfect for the part. Then again, John Goodman might be just right...or Paul Giamatti...with someone like Tom Hanks to be Bryson, his straight man. Then again, maybe we should make things interesting and cast Samuel L. Jackson as Bryson. But, I digress. A Walk in the Woods is the sort of fun, meandering book that makes one think these kinds of thoughts.

I found myself impressed at the perseverence -- and progress -- of two guys who, by their own estimation, had no business even attempting the Appalachian Trail. The hiking partners seem to be hitting their mountain-man stride (such as it is) about halfway through the book, at which point, they take a disappointing hiatus and never quite regain their momentum. The second half of the book covers the portions of the journey that Bryson undertook without Katz, and then the book concludes with Bryson and Katz reuniting to take on the northernmost -- and most treacherous -- part of the journey. And just how did that go? Well, that would be telling...but I will say that neither the book nor the hike are fun without Katz.

As a reader, I got the sense that the first part of the hike was a terrifying, thrilling, exhausting, challenging, life-affirming experience, and that the second part was phoned in with a sense of, "How do we wrap this up?" I am almost prepared to make this a criticism of the writer...but I suspect that Bryson is better than that, and that he was simply taking the reader along with how the journey felt to him. If that was his intent, he succeeded. The first half of the book was a pee-in-your-pants funny page-turner, and the second half was a tedious are-we-there-yet? experience.

Overall, the book was definitely worth the journey. Whether you are a seasoned hiker or a couch potato who wonders why anyone would ever want to bother walking anywhere they didn't have to, A Walk in the Woods is an worthwhile ramble over 2100 miles -- give or take -- with a couple of wry, cynical, amiable buddies. And if you find yourself skimming the parts where Katz is not present, don't feel bad; I think that maybe the author did that too.
John Sykes
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece worthy of exulting the venerable Appalachian Trail
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2019
I am an avid reader. Yes, folks, I'm that annoying person who reads while standing in line, and even at red lights. I once finished an entire novel sitting in a doctor's waiting room-- but perhaps that says more about the doctor than it does about my reading abilities. haha. I also hold advanced degrees in both English and writing. I know good writing when I read it, and I have also stumbled wearily through books shoved at me from the hands of well meaning friends: "we know you love to read. Read this one and let me know what you think of it." Gah. Please don't be that person to your friends-- the frightful book foister. Please, I beg of you. Don't be that person. Don't make me flee from your presence like unfiled taxes fleeing from the IRS, to avoid said horrible book dumping.

Tiresome celebrity biographies, reminiscent of a painful 9th grade essay, sold merely because a famous name is on it . . . let's admit it-- what can they really "tell all" about, when their lives are already a literal (equally wearying) open book?
Romance novels, with a close up of a muscular hand clutching a lacy red bustier on the front, which after several dreary pages makes me feel like ripping it, literally, in half, and throwing the book away. Cookbooks-- there are a few decent ones in this "here read this!" genre, but many of them are thrown together to make a sale, and let's face it-- when is the last time you actually made a recipe from an actual cookbook? Exactly. You throw it in the bag for the beach, thumb through a few pages while smearing on sunscreen, and then toss it in the 'ole bookshelf when you get home, where it is destined to live for the rest of readless, purgatorial eternity.

A friend recommended "A Walk in the Woods." Sigh, I thought. Another recommendation. I admire the "woods" from a distance, but I fear insects, snakes, vermin, rodents, and even the casual snap of a twig within their clutches. I do not camp. I do not eat camp food. I prefer to have my meals without a side of food poisoning. So you'd be right in thinking that my reaction was something like, "Ugh another referral. I will have less in common with this book than a Protestant would have with the Pope." I started it grudgingly, expecting to do the obligatory dragging of my eyes across the page until it was finally, relievingly, replete.

Boy was I in for a surprise.

Within the first few pages I surprised myself by chuckling. Then laughing. Then outright, from the gut, throwing back my head and howling. I stayed up until almost 1 AM that first night, devouring chapter after chapter, even though I had to be up early for work the next day. I just couldn't put it down. The writing is refreshingly honest-- at once thoughtful, hilarious, sarcastic, and downright well done. This is not the scribbling of a celebrity trying to sell books. This is the tale of someone who has truly lived a once in a lifetime kind of all-American experience. His observations about the conditions of the trails, the miraculous preservation efforts made by volunteers on the trail for decades, and even his views on life, are inspirational. His descriptions of the kooky characters, the beautiful, sweeping vistas of untouched wilderness that he discovered as he rounded thousands of wearying bends in the never-ending trails . . . it's magic. Pure magic. I can almost close my eyes and see it, so vivid are his descriptions of the meadows, the wildflowers, the soft sighing of the trees in the quiet breeze.

I've always said that the best kind of writing contains three elements. First, it is relevant/relate-able to all. It takes an incredible author to take a subject about which I have little interest (camping), and make it relevant and interesting to me, yet he does. Second, it should have humor-- not the "polite chuckle" kind of humor, but a real, genuine, gut laughing kind of humor, hidden delightfully throughout the text, waiting to surprise you like golden treasure where you would least think to look. Third, it should have moments of piercing, beautiful clarity-- moments when you find yourself, for reasons you almost can't explain, blinking back the tears as some particularly poignant thought resonates through your very being.

Bill Bryson delivers richly on all three counts. This book ended with my feeling deliciously and completely satiated, in every way. I laughed until my sides were sore, I cried at the honest, beautiful tendrils of his story as it wrapped its beautifully written arms around my heart. I shook my head solemnly with a deep, "Mmmm, yes" at the inspirations recorded within the story as he discovered, not just the beauty of the Appalachian Trail, but the beauty of life, warmth, family, and companionship. Perhaps the beauty of America is that a little bit of the magic resides in the heart of all of us. That's the message here. And it's a darned inspirational one.

I haven't done this often, but a few times in my life a book is so wonderful-- so stupendous-- that I just can't bear to end it. So the moment I finish, I move my bookmark back to chapter 1. Not ending-- just starting again.

My bookmark is resting in chapter 1 of this one.
Customer image
John Sykes
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece worthy of exulting the venerable Appalachian Trail
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2019
I am an avid reader. Yes, folks, I'm that annoying person who reads while standing in line, and even at red lights. I once finished an entire novel sitting in a doctor's waiting room-- but perhaps that says more about the doctor than it does about my reading abilities. haha. I also hold advanced degrees in both English and writing. I know good writing when I read it, and I have also stumbled wearily through books shoved at me from the hands of well meaning friends: "we know you love to read. Read this one and let me know what you think of it." Gah. Please don't be that person to your friends-- the frightful book foister. Please, I beg of you. Don't be that person. Don't make me flee from your presence like unfiled taxes fleeing from the IRS, to avoid said horrible book dumping.

Tiresome celebrity biographies, reminiscent of a painful 9th grade essay, sold merely because a famous name is on it . . . let's admit it-- what can they really "tell all" about, when their lives are already a literal (equally wearying) open book?
Romance novels, with a close up of a muscular hand clutching a lacy red bustier on the front, which after several dreary pages makes me feel like ripping it, literally, in half, and throwing the book away. Cookbooks-- there are a few decent ones in this "here read this!" genre, but many of them are thrown together to make a sale, and let's face it-- when is the last time you actually made a recipe from an actual cookbook? Exactly. You throw it in the bag for the beach, thumb through a few pages while smearing on sunscreen, and then toss it in the 'ole bookshelf when you get home, where it is destined to live for the rest of readless, purgatorial eternity.

A friend recommended "A Walk in the Woods." Sigh, I thought. Another recommendation. I admire the "woods" from a distance, but I fear insects, snakes, vermin, rodents, and even the casual snap of a twig within their clutches. I do not camp. I do not eat camp food. I prefer to have my meals without a side of food poisoning. So you'd be right in thinking that my reaction was something like, "Ugh another referral. I will have less in common with this book than a Protestant would have with the Pope." I started it grudgingly, expecting to do the obligatory dragging of my eyes across the page until it was finally, relievingly, replete.

Boy was I in for a surprise.

Within the first few pages I surprised myself by chuckling. Then laughing. Then outright, from the gut, throwing back my head and howling. I stayed up until almost 1 AM that first night, devouring chapter after chapter, even though I had to be up early for work the next day. I just couldn't put it down. The writing is refreshingly honest-- at once thoughtful, hilarious, sarcastic, and downright well done. This is not the scribbling of a celebrity trying to sell books. This is the tale of someone who has truly lived a once in a lifetime kind of all-American experience. His observations about the conditions of the trails, the miraculous preservation efforts made by volunteers on the trail for decades, and even his views on life, are inspirational. His descriptions of the kooky characters, the beautiful, sweeping vistas of untouched wilderness that he discovered as he rounded thousands of wearying bends in the never-ending trails . . . it's magic. Pure magic. I can almost close my eyes and see it, so vivid are his descriptions of the meadows, the wildflowers, the soft sighing of the trees in the quiet breeze.

I've always said that the best kind of writing contains three elements. First, it is relevant/relate-able to all. It takes an incredible author to take a subject about which I have little interest (camping), and make it relevant and interesting to me, yet he does. Second, it should have humor-- not the "polite chuckle" kind of humor, but a real, genuine, gut laughing kind of humor, hidden delightfully throughout the text, waiting to surprise you like golden treasure where you would least think to look. Third, it should have moments of piercing, beautiful clarity-- moments when you find yourself, for reasons you almost can't explain, blinking back the tears as some particularly poignant thought resonates through your very being.

Bill Bryson delivers richly on all three counts. This book ended with my feeling deliciously and completely satiated, in every way. I laughed until my sides were sore, I cried at the honest, beautiful tendrils of his story as it wrapped its beautifully written arms around my heart. I shook my head solemnly with a deep, "Mmmm, yes" at the inspirations recorded within the story as he discovered, not just the beauty of the Appalachian Trail, but the beauty of life, warmth, family, and companionship. Perhaps the beauty of America is that a little bit of the magic resides in the heart of all of us. That's the message here. And it's a darned inspirational one.

I haven't done this often, but a few times in my life a book is so wonderful-- so stupendous-- that I just can't bear to end it. So the moment I finish, I move my bookmark back to chapter 1. Not ending-- just starting again.

My bookmark is resting in chapter 1 of this one.
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Slaw
5.0 out of 5 stars great book with lots of humor and wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2024
I loved reading this book. Bryson is such a good writer. He has a way with words that make everyday conversations and quirky facts interesting and funny. I learned a lot about the trail, of course, but I felt like I had actually been there with them on their walk. I highly recommend it!

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