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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: 5662
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: Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read -> Recycle -> Reuse!
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| Customer Reviews:
 I've been recommending this book to everyone I know! June 19, 1998
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's written with great good humor, yet it's very informative (geology, history, land use issues, outdoor activities, and nature). I marked many passages for later reference, including material on Pangaea and continental drift, the Ice Ages, and the decades-long coal fire burning under Centralia, PA. The tone of the book develops with the progress and setbacks of the walk itself, encompassing moments of high hilarity, sudden terror, and somber reflection. It was fun to read a "confrontation with nature" book that wasn't shadowed by the sense of doom that necessarily pervaded "Young Men and Fire," "Into Thin Air," "Into the Wild," and "A Perfect Storm" (all excellent books, of course!)
Great read, wonderfully written June 17, 1998
Its a shame, the Appapachian Trail runs right in back of my house, only a mere 300 yards in back of it and I only once stepped foot on it. I only walked about 1 mile of the trail(he would call me a reebok hiker). What I saw was lovely, and was the reason I bought to book, for more information on the trail. What I read was great. Though it is true he didn't hike the whole thing, he did hike more than 99% of the population of this country will every hike on any trail in their entire lives. This book was funny, and the way he told the story was so superb, I could almost imagine everything going on. And for the reader who wished to give it a 0 or negative rating, I suggest you try hiking 2000 miles and see how far you get in your Timberland boots and stomach filled with Denny's grand slam breakfasts.
Short on Walking, Big on Talking June 15, 1998
A fine book by a talented, albiet too often smug author. There is no doubt that Bill Bryson is a talented writer. There is also no doubt that Bryson had and went on to describe a very "real", very American wilderness experience. He is certainly to be complimented for his talent, for his wit, for his desire to experience the out of doors, and for his unique ability to combine "British" humor with a truly "American" outdoor experience.If Bryson is to be criticized at all, it is for his "smugness". Too many are "beneath" Bryson. As he tops New Hampshire's Mt. Washington, the many he finds enjoying the day there do not measure up to Bryson because Bryson had hiked a trail to the top. Meanwhile, it wasn't very long after Bryson began his hike along the trail that he gave up ever accomplishing a "through hike". In fact, he hiked less than half the trail, much of this in small bits and pieces. What would those who had hiked the entire trail have thought of his failed efforts? I wonder. Chill out Bill. We each enjoy the wilderness in our own way and no one needs to explain why he might prefer to drive to the top of Mt. Washington and enjoy the view with his family from there. This is a funny, well written, informative, read and I certainly recommend it but Bryson, at age 47, still has some maturing to do. In spite of this, I recommend the book highly. Buy it!
Read Bill Bryson June 13, 1998
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Did I read the same book as some of the other reviewers? Bill Bryson is far more than a "competent" writer. He is an extremely good one. Bryson finished 40% of the AT (not "a tiny portion"). Some of it he hated, some he loved. His writing is terrific. The characters are terrific. The humour is terrific. Katz is funny and well drawn. There is the tension of extreme weather and getting lost. The history of several venues along the trail are well drawn out. Some are not flattering, nor should they be. Bryson is outspoken about what he likes and dislikes. He damns the damming of America, its cheesy tourist traps, the degradation of the temperate Eastern forest, and the lack of funds the U.S. spends on wild places -- good for him. He doesn't give the impression he hates progress, or highways, some of which he actually likes. He dislikes yuppie hikers and pretension -- again, good for him.At the end, Bryson makes clear his ambivalence about the whole process of a long slog through the trees, punctuated by moments which are truly exalted. Having covered a lot of the same ground as he did, I understand exactly what he means. I'd pretty much given up reading non-fiction for the past 10 years. This is the kind of book that can bring me back.
 Tell the truth please June 13, 1998
The book like others on the Appalachian Trail give the impression they are going to tell you of there adventure along the ENTIRE length of the Applachian Trail. I found myself remarking at my foolishness for buying this book. I could not believe the last part of the book after he quits the trail. Could someone actually have the guts to publish a book about their inability to finish the trail. DRIVING to small sections of the it by car to describe 3 mile sections..............eeeegads!!!!
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