A Walk in the Woods

by Bill Bryson

From the author of "Notes from a Small Island" and "The Lost Continent" comes this humorous report on his walk along the Appalachian Trail. The Trail covers 14 states and over 2000 miles, and stretches along the east coast of America from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. It is famous for being the longest continuous footpath in the world. It snakes through some of the wildest and most specactular landscapes in America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.

• ISBN10: 0385408161
• ISBN13: 9780385408165
• Publish Date: 1 November 1997
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 January 2005
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Doubleday
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[remo]

Siempre genial Bryson. Se hace la ruta de los Apalaches (the Appalachian Trail) y nos cuenta miles de cosas por el camino. Un libro estupendo que parece que siempre puede contarnos algo más, lleno de humor y cosas interesantes.

[readingwithwrin]

“There is no point in hurrying because you are not actually going anywhere. However far or long you plod, you are always in the same place: in the woods.”

Not going to lie, if I hadn't seen the movie first I wouldn't have even given this book a second glance.

Bryson decides one night that he is going to walk the Appalachian trail. The problem? He doesn't hike and his wife doesn't want him to do the trail alone in case he would get injured. So as he does some research he calls up all of his old friends he knows. And as to be expected they all think he is crazy, and pass on the opportunity to do it with him. That is until one day he gets a call from Stephan Katz who he hasn't talked to in years, nor does he really like. Katz wants to do the trail with him.

Now I know what you're thinking they why would you do the trail with someone you haven't spoken to in years and don't even like. Well simple Bryson wants to do the trail and he needs a partner to do so. So even if that person is Katz who is slow as all can be, and makes some questionable choices throughout the whole experience. He is determined to make it through with him.

As time goes on and the two become friends they learn a lot about each other. As well as learning to dislike a certain other hiker who is rather annoying to hike with all day. They learn how to survive the long days, and sore feet. In the end they actually end up making a pretty good team.
The things they get up to in the towns they passed through were hilarious to read, as well as Katz questionable idea of what was necessary to bring on the trail and his ability to throw certain things away that were actually needed!

Overall I did enjoy this book, and getting to learn a little bit more about both Bryson and Katz. At time though I'm not going to lie the little bits of random information about the trail itself got to be a little bit much as time went on. I just wanted to hear more about Bryson and Katz not so much about the creator of the trail.

For me personally the movie was better, it took all of the funny and interesting parts of the book and put them into a condensed version that still told the same basic story without ruining any Bryson's & Katz experiences

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[ibeforem]

I’m starting to become a real Bryson fan. I enjoy his tone and sometimes dry humor, and I enjoy that he sneaks in informative tidbits without you hardly realizing it. Having lived within a half hour of the Appalachian Trail most of my life, I felt an extra connection with this story. My great uncle hiked the trail solo from Maine to Georgia a few years ago at the age of 62, and I feel like this gave me a little insight into what his journey was like. I’ll definitely be consuming more of Bryson’s stories.