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Loading... A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trailby Bill Bryson
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. 1   bardsfingertips | Dec 29, 2009 |  As with other Bryson books this one was both thought provoking and laugh out loud hysterical. Laughed so much at the hospital that people were stopping into my husband's room to see what was so funny. Have to admit I'd never once thought of hiking the Appalachian Trail, though I have hiked bits of it and camped in many of the parks it traverses over the years. The part of this book that most hit home with me was when the author was trying to figure out how to get back onto the trail...back to those first intense feelings...after breaking off and going home for a while. I imagine that's what it's like any time you've had a major shift in your life and then try to get things back to "normal" Never as easy as we expect it to be...because WE are so very different. Excellent read. (  ) VirginiaGill | Dec 21, 2009 | I first became acquainted with A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson through an audio book I was given by a dear friend of mine a few years ago. Later, after reading other books he has written and, listening to another awesome friend of mine over at Trailheadcase rave with enthusiasm about the man, I've become a fan. Bill Bryson takes us along with him as he turns a dream into the actuality of hiking the Appalachian Trail; from his fumbling attempts at map reading to buying the proper gear, determining food needs and trying to reconcile himself to his inept and out of shape hiking partner/friend, all with his wry sense of humor and insight. At several points you can't help but think he's a numb-skull and he himself is fraught with self-doubt at times, yet he carries on with a determined spirit and always that sense of humor is present. Before you are through with the story, you have laughed, longed for a hot bath and warm bed, and cried along with him as he drinks in the beauty around him that is being destroyed by the thoughtlessness of man. This is the kind of story that will fire you up to get out into nature and enjoy it's fragile beauty and at the same time inspire you to endeavor to do better at preserving our wilderness so future generations may know what it is to take 'a walk in the woods'. I highly recommend this book! RobbieJean | Dec 18, 2009 | A funny, engaging and sometimes critical view of the history and day to day hiking of the Appalachian trail. ( ) Zommbie1 | Dec 10, 2009 | A humorous romp on the Appalachian Trail. A light read. However, like the Appalachian Trail, it gets long about two-thirds of the way through. (  ) Rosareads | Dec 3, 2009 | 
 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.
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When Bryson speaks for the many Americans he encounters along the way--in various shops, restaurants, airports, and along the trail--he launches into his American accent, which is whiny and full of hard r's. And his southern intonations are a hoot. He's even got a special voice used exclusively when speaking for his somewhat surprising trail partner, Katz. In the 25 years since their school days together, Katz has put on quite a bit of weight. In fact, "he brought to mind Orson Welles after a very bad night. He was limping a little and breathing harder than one ought to after a walk of 20 yards." Katz often speaks in monosyllables, and Bryson brings his limited vocabulary humorously to life. One of Katz's more memorable utterings is "flung," as in flung most of his provisions over the cliff because they were too heavy to carry any farther.
The author has thoroughly researched the history and the making of the Appalachian Trail. Bryson describes the destruction of many parts of the forest and warns of the continuing perils (both natural and man-made) the Trail faces. He speaks of the natural beauty and splendor as he and Katz pass through, and he recalls clearly the serious dangers the two face during their time together on the trail. So, A Walk in the Woods is not simply an out-of-shape, middle-aged man's desire to prove that he can still accomplish a major physical task; it's also a plea for the conservation of America's last wilderness. Bryson's telling is a knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud funny trek through the woods, with a touch of science and history thrown in for good measure. (Running time: 360 minutes, four cassettes) --Colleen Preston
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:20:59 -0500)
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Anyway, this is a memoir, thus making it nonfiction, thus making it a piece of the written letters I normally do not tread. Regardless, his approach here is very narrative in spirit and makes you feel as though you really want to see this first-person (and his companion) through his journey.
What we have here is a story about a man who decided, somewhat out of the blue, that he wants to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is, of course, quite an undertaking, therefore, he does not wish to do it himself. So, he writes to all of his friends and gets one person to respond much to his surprise. His name is Katz. He is well overweight and has recently stopped drinking due to the fact he is an alcoholic. Plus, as I am sure you, gentlereaders, have guessed, quite out of shape.
Bill Bryson takes note of their journey in a manner that is both hilarious and melancholic. Bryson successfully mixes narration with factoids about the trail, the environment, animals, plants, history all without causing any discomfort.
If there were more writers like Bryson retelling aspects of their lives, I would be more thrilled to read them.
…And, I sort of feel like taking a bit of a walk. (