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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America…
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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (edition 2006)

by Bill Bryson

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16,808473308 (4)632
Essays. Travel. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in Americaâ??majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If youâ??re going to take a hike, itâ??s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide youâ??ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the wayâ??and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and… (more)

Member:pianistry
Title:A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Authors:Bill Bryson
Info:Anchor (2006), Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

  1. 70
    Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (ominogue)
  2. 30
    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (Phlox72)
    Phlox72: Although this is fiction it concerns the same woods, and it's a captivating read.
  3. 21
    The Appalachian Trail Reader by David Emblidge (Othemts)
  4. 10
    The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (LAKobow)
  5. 11
    Call of the Wild: My Escape to Alaska by Guy Grieve (Playr4JC)
  6. 11
    A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins (PaulBerauer)
  7. 11
    A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All by Luke Dempsey (clamairy)
  8. 11
    Dances With Marmots - A Pacific Crest Trail Adventure by George G. Spearing (clif_hiker)
  9. 22
    Two Shadows: The Inspirational Story of One Man's Triumph over Adversity by Charlie Winger (coclimber)
    coclimber: Two Shadows is a fascinating book that goes from tragic to funny to shocking to thrilling and back to funny again. The climbing and travel stories range from dramatic to hilarious.
  10. 00
    As Far as the Eye Can See by David Brill (Sandydog1)
  11. 00
    River-Horse by William Least Heat-Moon (yonderjack)
  12. 00
    A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby (suniru)
  13. 00
    Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery (Othemts)
  14. 01
    Cordelia Underwood: Or, The Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid (wvlibrarydude)
  15. 12
    The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind - and Almost Found Myself - on the Pacific Crest Trail (P.S.) by Dan White (clif_hiker)
  16. 01
    Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis (booklove2)
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» See also 632 mentions

English (469)  Dutch (3)  German (3)  French (2)  Spanish (1)  Catalan (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (480)
Showing 1-5 of 469 (next | show all)
Not the best, but still gave me a chuckle and a think. ( )
  Zehava42 | Jan 23, 2024 |
On three attempts, I made it all the way to page 9. This is just not my kind of thing, so I'm not going to even rate it.
1 vote Doodlebug34 | Jan 1, 2024 |
This was the first Bryson book I read, and I enjoyed every page. Living in Seoul at the time, I was aching for the woods, and this was a great remedy. Bryson's wit weren't lost as he talked about hiking the trail as a non-hiker. It gave me a great taste of the backcountry while surrounded by 18 million other residents. ( )
1 vote ohheybrian | Dec 29, 2023 |
Considering my fondness for the outdoors and witty writing, and my fascination with Appalachia and the Smokies, I can't believe I never heard of this book until the book club at work announced it as our November read. What a fabulous travelogue! I love how thoroughly Bryson describes the history of the Appalachian Trail as well as it's rigors, topography, sights, sounds, smells, risks and rewards. And I laughed on just about every page.

If you're into hiking and outdoors, this is a must-read humorous first person account of a wilderness hiking novice getting in over his head and discovering the rigors of exploring the Appalachian Trail. Just Bryson's amusing experiences learning about hiking gear is worth reading, as well as his poking fun at "city slicker" hikers in their fancy name brand gear.

My husband and I vacationed in the Smokies last Fall and got to hike a tiny stretch of the AT (not nearly as much as we wanted, due to it already being so icy and slick in early November). So, this travelogue brought back fond memories of that trip, and particular designations around the national park. ( )
  Colleen.Greene | Dec 17, 2023 |
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's not quite what I expected. I expected quite a bit more humor. Bryson included a lot of environmental details, particularly as they related to the theory of evolution, which he believes to be fact (and I do not), so that got pretty old. If it had been just a line or two throughout, it would have been easier to get over, but I felt half the book was an indoctrination in it, and those areas were devoid of the humor I was looking forward to. I also could have done without the language - it didn't add anything to the book. Bryson has a dry sense of humor that I did appreciate, and I was inspired to hike the Appalachian Trail someday. Overall, I liked it, but I doubt I'll read any other books by Bryson. ( )
  RachelRachelRachel | Nov 21, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 469 (next | show all)
Bryson's breezy, self-mocking tone may turn off readers who hanker for another ''Into Thin Air'' or ''Seven Years in Tibet.'' Others, however, may find themselves turning the pages with increasing amusement and anticipation as they discover that they're in the hands of a satirist of the first rank, one who writes (and walks) with Chaucerian brio.
 
[Bryson] was often exhausted, his ''brain like a balloon tethered with string, accompanying but not actually part of the body below.'' The reader, by contrast, is rarely anything but exhilarated. And you don't have to take a step.
 

» Add other authors (11 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bryson, Billprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Chaunac, KarineTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cook, DavidIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
GoddÄłn, ServaasTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roberts, WilliamNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stegers, ThomasÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
/
Dedication
To Katz,
of course.
First words
Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.
Quotations
But always the wandering trail ran on.
“You all right?” I said. “Oh, peachy,” he replied. “Just peachy. I don’t know why they couldn’t have put some crocodiles in here and made a real adventure of it.”
The book to which I refer is Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by a Canadian academic named Stephen Herrero. If this is not the last word on the subject, the I really, really, really do not wish to hear the last word. [Chapter 2]
Black bears rarely attack. But here's the thing. Sometimes they do. All bears are agile, cunning, and immensely strong, and they are always hungry. If they want to kill you and eat you, they can, and pretty much whenever they want. That doesn't happen often, but -- and here is the absolutely salient point -- once would be enough. [Chapter 2]
I wanted very much to be calmed by these assurances but could never quite manage the necessary leap of faith. After noting that just 500 people were attacked and hurt by black bears between 1960 and 1980 -- twenty-five attacks from a resident population of at least half a million bears -- Herrero adds that most of these injuries were not severe. "The typical black bear-inflicted injury," he writes blandly, "is minor and usually involves only a few scratches or light bites." Pardon me, but what exactly is a light bite? Are we talking a playful wrestle and gummy nips? I think not. And is 500 certified attacks really such a modest number, considering how few people go into the North American woods? And how foolish must one be to be reassured by the information that no bear has killed a human being in Vermont or New Hampshire in 200 years? That's not because the bears have signed a treaty, you know. There's nothing to say they won't start a modest rampage tomorrow. [Chapter 2]
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ISBNs 0552152153 (or 978055152150) and 0553455923 (or 9780553455922) refer to abridged versions. Please do not combine those with this, the record for unabridged works.
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Essays. Travel. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in Americaâ??majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If youâ??re going to take a hike, itâ??s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide youâ??ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the wayâ??and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and

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