Online since 1997 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)Click on a title to get information such as reviews, price comparisons, and availability or to purchase. Search Again-Enter Keyword, Title, or ISBN: |
|
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)
by: Bill Bryson |
||
 |
|
or |
|
Binding: Paperback Brand: Random Dewey Decimal Number: 917.40443 EAN: 9780767902526 ISBN: 0767902521 Label: Broadway Manufacturer: Broadway Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 304 Publication Date: May 04, 1999 Publisher: Broadway Release Date: May 04, 1999 Studio: Broadway Features:
|
||
| Customer Reviews | ||
  - Laugh out loud funny!An unlikely duo attempts to tackle the over 2000 mile hike that is the Appalachian Trail. Laugh out loud as they trudge through the wilderness toward a very distant goal. Rating: - Funny?A woman at work walked up to me and started talking to me. Never saw this lady before who had the charisma of a zombie and a face that spooked me, so I thought, UGH, How do I escape? Feeling remorseful for this creature I inquired about the book she was holding. A man hiking through the Appalachian Trail and it's funny, she said. Yea, right. How can an entire book about hiking be humorous? Dragon breath. Anyway, she looked like she just crawled out of the grave, no thanks lady! Not taking your recommendation, woman. So, I moved on. Days later, I photocopied the back of Stephen King's reading recommendations in "How to Write" and I thought I'd take this list to Borders and perform a magical blind finger pick to the photocopy. It landed on "A Walk in the Woods." Kismet. I'd rather be pokerfaced while reading my books at work on my breaks. However this book made my head jerk back voluntarily and grins of amusement made me stand out like a laughing hyena. I'm now a break room spectacle. The Zombie Woman was correct. This not only is this an amusing paperback but it's a gentle call to the destruction of nature and a mini lesson (maybe 2 pages) in science, which if Bill Bryson wrote text books for students, well, at least for me, I think I would've gotten a better grade in Science. He wrote about a tree, and maybe it's my interpretation, but it leads one to wonder about---who's the Maker? Maybe it's just me. The highlight of his paperback is the author's rapport with his hiking buddy. I'm a nature girl, so I trotted along with this odd pair pleasantly engaged to the very end of their grueling expedition. Happy Trails/Happy Reading! Rating: - I Bought Hiking BootsThe best thing about "Walk in the Woods" is my desire to do the same. I have got to see - walk a part of the AT. So, I bought some hiking boots. When a book moves the reader something special has occurred. Highly recommended. Rating: - Bryson at his BEST!To be honest, I picked up this book at a library sale but never had any intention of reading it. I love Bill Bryson and have read some of his other work but a book about his hiking the Appalachian Trail is something I would NEVER read! Strangely enough, I was bored one hot summer day and cracked it open only to find myself completely enthralled and racing through it as if it was a thriller. In other words, I loved it. So I supposed I have to say, Bryson may know my reading tastes better than myself! The book starts with Bryson getting the idea that he should walk the Appalachian Trail as a way to reacquaint himself with his homeland. For twenty years, he had lived with his wife and four children in England. In 1995, they all moved back to the states and settled in New Hampshire (Bryson and his family have since moved BACK to the UK). Always an avid lover of nature but never much of a hiker, Bryson decides he'll hike from the southern most spot on the AT (Appalachian Trail) to Mount Katahdin in Maine. As is usual with Bryson, he reads all about the subject and focuses a great deal on bear stories, deaths out on the trail, and the sordid history of the trail itself. He spends copious amounts of money on his gear and plans out an extremely optimistic hiking schedule. As the date gets closer, he worries about doing the journey on his own until his old childhood friend from Des Moines, Iowa calls and asks if he can come along. The two were hiking buddies years before and the experience had almost ruined their friendship, however, Bryson jumps at the thought of having company. Bryson chronicles their hiking and adds in chapters on the history of the trail, the history of the National Parks Service, even the history of some of the towns that they stop in. He really does a thorough job and in under 300 pages (for the paperback), it flies by! I have to say that I learned much more in this book than I ever thought possible. When the historic chapters came up, I often thought about skipping them but found myself just as engrossed as I was in the chapters detailing Katz and Bryson's odd couple-esque hiking trip. Bryson's reflections on the importance and significance of the AT in his life as well as in that of America is extremely well articulated. I have to say that it's the complete package! Bryson's humor always makes me chuckle but this book proves that he can also handle serious matters with great insight and understanding. It's excellent as far as I am concerned and certainly a read that anyone can enjoy (and how often can you say that about a book?!) Rating: - Walk in the WoodsThis is a great book, and an easy read. Very entertaining as well as informative on the Appalachian Trail. I'll definitely be reading more of Bill Bryson's books. |
||