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 enlarge | Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.94 (100%)
New (85) Used (401) Collectible (13) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  968 reviews
Sales Rank: 5621
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0767902521
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.40443
EAN: 9780767902526
ASIN: 0767902521
Publication Date: May 4, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Used Condition - GOOD can be a well cared for Book (including Audio) that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books may be marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Possible marking on cover. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. Delivery is 7-14 days for standard mail. **
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| Customer Reviews:
 This book is many things - all them good! April 21, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First, let me say that I have the audio version, read by Bill Bryson himself. I don't usually do audio books but this is one that I would recommend. Bryson has a wounderful storytelling voice that perfectly matches his storytelling ability. The story takes place on the famous Appalachian Trail in the eastern US. The book is about hiking, about the Appalachian Trail, about friendships and, about our sorry performance as a society in taking care of the natural gifts we have. You will come away laughing, disgusted and ready to pack your backpack and hit the trail! I have listened to this 5 CD series several times and never tire of it!
Having Fun in the Woods April 18, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a memoir of sorts of Bryson's journey on the Appalachian trail in the late 1990s. He and a long lost somewhat crazy buddy from high school hook up and make plans to tackle this 2100 mile behemoth going from North Georgia to Katahdin Mountain in Maine. Though quite out of shape, they embark upon the hike and have good times enjoying nature including encounters with a moose and some unknown creatures that may or may not have been bears.
Throughout the book Bryson provides humorous tellings of their adventures in his characteristic droll style. One such example was when they had to hike their way through a swamp jumping from log to log and not very successfully staying vertical. After thier struggle of 30 minutes to cross a small space, feeling somewhat triumphant, tired, wet, and dirty, a couple hippie looking guys came along hoisted the backpacks over their heads and adroitly crossed the same piece of swamp in a couple of minutes while staying clean much to Bryson and Katz's dismay. Another such incident was on their first day back on the trail after a hiatus when Katz fell behind. When he finally caught back up to Bryson, huffing and puffing and feeling fairly out of sorts, his pack was considerably lighter due to his throwing things off the side of the trail such as food, a water bottle, and sundry other equipment/materials. Bryson says "Stephen I really wish you wouldn't do such things." I'm perhaps not portraying it as funny as it was but in the book it was fairly hilarious.
At various points in the book, Bryson takes an aside to go into detail on the history of the Appalachian Trail both past and present, notable characters along the trail, as well as detailed descriptions of nature and the terrain. One interesting part is when he visits the ghost town of Centralia in Pennsylvania. It was abandoned about 23 years ago due to a coal mine burning in the ground underneath the town. He said that everywhere you could see smoke coming up out of the ground and realized he was standing right above a roaring fire so felt the urgent need to move on.
I've personally done a bit of hiking (a decent amount in the Smoky Mountains part of the AT) and found Bryson's account to be both accurate and enjoyable. Each multi day backpacking trip I've taken has brought memories, beautiful scenery, pictures, and war stories to tell. Even one who is not in the best shape can get out in nature, get some good exercise, and enjoy themself through hiking whether on day trips or overnight backpacking trips. I recommend the book for anyone who wants to get an idea what it's like to hike the Appalachian Trail or just wants some nice, fun reading material.
A Fun Romp April 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Take a trip on the Appalachian Trail with this hilarious character. You won't be able to keep from laughing while you read this adventure.
My Literary Trek Through the AT April 10, 2007
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
I had heard of Bill Bryson, but had never read any of his books. I picked this up at a discount store, and thus began MY adventure. From the moment I started, I was enthralled. In between Bill's recollection of his adventure is littered all kinds of interesting stories and histories of the places visited and the wildlife that lives (or lived) there, and best of all is the humor (my favorite part is his account of reading the book about bear attacks). I was a bit disappointed, as someone already pointed out, he did not hike the entire trail, but I was never the less intrigued by every bit of what he did see.
Though I do disagree with some of his science and politics, it doesn't hurt the book one bit. I was glad, I guess you could say, that he does point out that often times conservationists and the Park Service do more harm than good for these National Parks and nature in general.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars was the F word and a few other bits of dialogue could have been done without. I realized that it was mostly, if not always, part of a conversation, but still.
Able narrative, good mix of research and humour April 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Solid enjoyable craft.
Bryson is an able anecdotalist, and the book soars when he describes some extraordinary characters; if he exaggerates a little here and there (and maybe he didn't), that's OK. But it's not as if he populates the whole Appalachian Trail with increasingly obvious fabrications - when there aren't any incidents to report he wisely falls back on interesting historical, biological, environmental, political, social ... whatever ... research. Each chapter is a deliberately self-contained bite, and the way I enjoyed (and I'd recommend) reading the book. I would be surprised if he wasn't, or hadn't been, a columnist, with a honed ability to keep to a word limit that matches attention spans. I was impressed that I enjoyed the whole book, which, when you get down to it, is a pretty rare thing. His style is very readable, and his sense of humour permeates the narrative.
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