A Walk in the Woods

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A Walk in the Woods
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  1. Audio CD: 8 items
  2. Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; 2001-11-01
  3. Author: Bill Bryson, William Roberts
  4. Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
  5. ISBN: 0754054535
  6. Sales Rank in Books: #348865

Product Review

The longest continuous footpath in the world, the Appalachian Trail, stretches along the East Coast of the United States through some of the most arresting landscapes in America. In the company of a friend, Bill Bryson sets off to hike 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, rattle-snakes and poisonous plants. Facing savage weather and unreliable maps, Bryson gamely struggles through the wilderness to achieve a lifetime's ambition -- not to die outdoors.

Amazon.com Review

Your initial reaction to Bill Bryson's reading of A Walk in the Woods may well be "Egads! What a bore!" But by sentence three or four, his clearly articulated, slightly adenoidal, British/American-accented speech pattern begins to grow on you and becomes quite engaging. You immediately get a hint of the humor that lies ahead, such as one of the innumerable reasons he longed to walk as many of the 2,100 miles of the Appalachian Trail as he could. "It would get me fit after years of waddlesome sloth" is delivered with glorious deadpan flair. By the time our storyteller recounts his trip to the Dartmouth Co-op, suffering serious sticker shock over equipment prices, you'll be hooked.

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

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1,329 customer reviews)

261 of 279 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars More than a hiking narative., May 10, 2000
Jerry Clyde Phillips (Sutton, Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) (Paperback)
This is much more than a travelogue of two neophyte hikers on the Appalachian Trail, and readers looking for a blow by blow account of the travails of Bill Bryson and his companion, Stephen Katz, will be disappointed. Hiking provides only a backdrop to a heartfelt discourse on the social condition of America, local history, the environment, and the complexities of friendship. The pretext for the book was Bryson's return to the United States after twenty years in Britain, and his interest in "rediscovering America" after such a lengthy absence.The vast majority of the reviews of the book cite its hilarity (one reviewer called it "choke-on-your-coffee funny"), and indeed there are very many funny parts. However, the deeper I got into the book, I detected a strong shift in the author's sentiment from satire to deep introspection. His observations became more acute, more angry, and more individualized as his long hike constantly brings to his mind the...Read more


106 of 115 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I strongly recommend it to anyone, February 7, 2000
Jeff Obayashi (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) (Paperback)
A Walk in the Woods is a travel memoir on the Appalachian Trail, one of America's greatest hiking routes. The author, Bill Bryson lived in England for 20 years and came back to the United States with the urge to go on a long hike. Stephen Katz, an old college friend, and a former alcoholic accompanies him. Both men are out of shape, and beginners at hiking, so it is a wonder how they can endure such hardships along the trail. They had to carry a pack that contained their tents, food, water, clothes and other items. Katz and other interesting characters provide the book with much comic relief to keep the reader involved. At some points in the book I was laughing out loud. Along the journey they meet many people including Mary Ellen a slow-minded woman who follows them around, and Beulah, a fat woman with a very angry husband. The commentary about the long, rich history of the Appalachian Trail brings insight on the wilderness that we hardly know about. It also...Read more


79 of 87 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting history of the trail, second half less compelling than the first., September 23, 2006
frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) (Paperback)
As both a Bill Bryson fan and a long distance hiker myself (although I have not done the Appalachian Trail yet) I really expected to love A Walk in the Woods. I was a little bit concerned, since when my partner handed it to me (he finished the book first) he said, "I don't think you're going to like it..." But still, I was really looking forward to reading it.

For the first half of the book, I also really did enjoy the book. I wasn't bothered by the fact that they were unprepared or out of shape. Nobody is really prepared for their first long distance hiking trip until they are a few weeks into the trail. I remember my own experience of staggering along under my overly ambitious pack. I also enjoyed that he talked honestly about the experience of hiking, and I liked the way that he interspersed history and facts about the trail with the travel writing.

The second half, however, got much less interesting. The day trips and the abortive Maine portion were actually...Read more

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