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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

bill bryson ron mclarty

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God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake a gruelling hike along the world's longest continuous footpath—The Appalachian Trail.

The 2,000-plus-mile trail winds through 14 states, stretching along the east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in North America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.

With his offbeat sensibility, his eye for the absurd, and his laugh-out-loud sense of humour, Bryson recounts his confrontations with nature at its most uncompromising over his five-month journey.

An instant classic, riotously funny, A Walk in the Woods will add a whole new audience to the legions of Bill Bryson fans.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

0 pages, Audio CD

First published May 5,1998
Places
the united states of america, appalachian trail north carolina, 

This edition

Format
0 pages, Audio CD
Published
January 1, 1998 by Broadway Books
ISBN
9780788734298
ASIN
0788734296
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Bill Bryson

    Bill Bryson

    Bill Bryson

    William McGuire Bryson is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of hi...

  • Stephen Kats

    Stephen Kats

    ...

  • Mary Ellen

    Mary Ellen

    ...

  • Bill Abdu

    Bill Abdu

    ...

  • Beulah

    Beulah

    ...

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for bill bryson

bill bryson

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William McGuire Bryson is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.
In 1995, while in the United Kingdom, Bryson authored Notes from a Small Island, an exploration of Britain. In 2003, he authored A Short History of Nearly Everything. In October 2020, he announced that he had retired from writing books. In 2022, he recorded an audiobook for Audible, The Secret History of Christmas. He has sold over 16 million books worldwide.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
36(36%)
4 stars
29(29%)
3 stars
34(34%)
2 stars
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1 stars
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99 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
bad_shipping
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Original thoughts:
Nope. Just nope. I'm pissed at this book. I'll tell you why when I calm down.

A couple weeks later:
SPOILER ALERT... but not really... this book is not about hiking the Appalachian Trail... it's about hiking a tiny section and then hitching a ride to a hotel to spend the night in a cushy bed and then quitting to go on a book tour and then coming back and deciding to quit again... and then... well you get it. And this book is also about how much Bill Bryson hates the National Park Service. I did learn a lot of random facts about the hand America has had in killing nature, but there is very little about the soulful experience of hiking the trail.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is something that has always been on my bucket list.. one day I will. When I pick up books like this, I want to be inspired to go out there and experience it for myself. I don't expect it to be all rainbows and sunshine. I know it's a hard thing to do a thru-hike... but damn - Bill Bryson and his friend are just QUITTERS, BIG BABY QUITTERS. I was not inspired by this book at all. It really just makes me mad that he wrote a book like this and made a lot of money off of it and it's now being made into a movie... for nothing.

Don't waste your time on this one. Go read Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail instead. It's a great example of a hiker's inspiring journey... maybe I'm just spoiled by it.
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
a_dragonfly
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Bill Bryson’s – A Walk in the Woods follows Bryson as he and his old mate, Katz, attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. This endeavour is no small thing, the AT is a 2,000 + mile hiking trail up and down the East coast of the US, linking Georgia in the South to Maine in the North. It traverses around 11 states and is one of the most popular and well-known walking trails around.

This book started off in true Bryson style – I guffawed at the pages at times. I find Bryson very funny, and when he’s on song he really is hilarious. Most of the funny, initial parts of the story involved the planning for the adventure and his perspectives of his mate, Katz. Katz is a funny bloke, often hopeless, sometimes moody, awkward, forever hungry and oblivious to his own manners.

As the boys commence this herculean endeavour Bryson describes the wonderful surroundings of the AT, the interesting people they meet, interesting service situations and of course – being Bryson, fascinating historical facts and figures of the AT and anything associated with it.

One particularly interesting character who managed to attach themselves to Katz and Bryson was the ‘fleshy’ Mary Ellen. She joined the lads earlier in the trip, dropping into and out of the story. Mary Ellen was quite well known amongst the other hikers due to her interesting manner. A typical conversation might go something like this:

“When’s your birthday?” Mary Ellen asks Bill.
“December the eighth.”
“That’s Virgo.” says Mary Ellen.
“No, actually it’s Sagittarius.” replied Bill.
“Whatever.” Mary Ellen then abruptly says “Jeez you guys stink!”
“Well, uh, we’ve been walking.”
Mary Ellen says “Me, I don’t sweat. Never have. Don’t dream either.”
“Everybody dreams,” Katz said.
“Well I don’t.”

………..and on it goes. Lofty stuff like that. I love reading pointless dialogue when I’m in the mood, especially when a character like Mary Ellen is directing proceedings. Conversations with Mary Ellen can, and usually do, end up anywhere, often with hilarious consequences.

However, this book started to run out of puff for me at about a third of the way through. Firstly, Bryson and Katz decided not to walk the trail in its entirety, and in fact ‘only’ walked around a third of the AT by the time they reached the endpoint in Maine. Sure, many people walk this trail in sections and come back to do it in sections. But I was really hoping we would see genuine, gruelling, hardship of Bryson and his mate traversing the entirety of this track. We would’ve learned more about the guys themselves, the people they met and some of their thoughts and struggles – which in themselves can provide some chuckles. Secondly, I get the feeling Bryson got a bit bored with the whole thing – day after day, tree after tree, mountain after mountain. This resonated for me as such the book turn south. We see a lot more ‘drier’ factual padding. Often interesting, but it became more of a historical piece of the AT and current political and environmental challenges, rather than an adventure of the odd couple.

I must admit though, this book inspired me to call my best mate, Joe, who lives in Adelaide, and he has agreed to go hiking with me in Tasmania in spring later in 2021. Something to plan, get a bit excited about and train for. I was surprised he agreed so readily – Joe, dislikes camping and hiking as much as I do. I also get on Joe’s nerves a little bit sometimes (I can tell) he’s more the thoughtful, quiet type, whereas I’m not and not. So, it could be fun!!

3 Stars



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Profile Image for Kimberly .
ihateeveryone
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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It's been a busy couple of weeks, so I thought I'd spent the last of my holiday indulging in a witty travelogue to set my feet itching. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong book. Years of declining the advice of the Bryson-worshipers, it seems, was not in vain.

I'm halfway through, and - like the author on the daunting trail - am unsure as to whether or not I can finish my task. Bryson sounds, to put it mildly, a real jerk. He's smug and superior, and spends most of the book complaining about his companions on the trail. A common motif is how everyone one is but a weekend hiker, that he is a true back-to-nature type in comparison. True, some of his encounters sound less than thrilling, but even the obnoxious woman he encounters should get credit for tackling the trail by herself. Instead, she's unceremoniously ditched (in real life as well as print) by the man who couldn't stomach the thought of going alone. He enlists the companionship of a long-lost friend with whom he'd proven incompatible on a previous travel experience. Said "friend" is then derided throughout the book for his sloth, roughness in manner, and lowbrow tastes. Meanwhile, Bryson paints himself as Guardian of the Trail, criticising the Parks Service along with all who venture through her woods.

I'm still waiting for even a glimpse of the much-vaunted Bryson wit and charm to show itself. At the moment, he's nothing more than the stereotypical Blue Stater - putting himself on a pedestal while looking down his nose at everyone else. It's not attractive, and it makes for a very frustrating read. I wish he'd stayed home.
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Anime-era
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I am definitely "late to the party" in discovering this adventurous hiking memoir by Bill Bryson, but I think that this story is somewhat timeless. He recounts his own experience of walking the famous Appalachian Trail, while also including information about the history of the trail, the flora and fauna of the trail, and stories of those who have traversed its paths. The narrative is presented in an educational, yet humorous, manner that had us occasionally laughing out loud.

This was a 9 hour and 44 minute audiobook that was a well-balanced diversion for my husband and I on a very long car trip. We felt that the narration was done very well by Rob McQuay; it was easy to listen to and made our trip seem to pass more quickly. IMHO this thoroughly entertaining audiobook would appeal to a variety of readers. And, who knows, it may even have you taking up hiking!
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
pink-lemonade
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I really enjoyed this book for the most part. Bill Bryson is freakin hilarious!

One of my favorite quotes: "What on earth would I do if four bears came into my camp? Why, I would die, of course. Literally shit myself lifeless. I would blow my sphincter out my backside like one of those unrolling paper streamers you get at children's parties - I daresay it would even give a merry toot - and bleed to a messy death in my sleeping bag."

n  n

I DIED. Then came back to life, read this over again, and died again. There were so many LOL parts throughout the book. I kept having to control my giggles at work.

I also liked the history and science behind the making of the trail, the trees/animals of the trail, and the areas that it passes through. It was spaced out enough to be interesting, but not get tedious.

What I didn't like:
Perhaps this is because I just recently read Wild, but I was a little disappointed he actually did so little of the trail. And honestly, the miles and miles that he drove/hiked and came home shouldn't count either. Neither should staying in a hotel at every chance. I guess to me, making a commitment to hike a long trail like this is a pure and holy thing, and it felt a little like sacrilege that he seemed to disregard it and be so unwilling to leave his privileged life behind. I mean, to each his own, but I would NEVER even think about publishing a book about a trail that, in actuality, I only hiked 39% (his words!) of.

Overall, this was a fun and entertaining read, but it didn't garner much respect for the author as a "hiker".
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sakura_osmanthus
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Let me just get this out of the way first: Sorry, Trish! I couldn't help myself! I have no willpower! I am officially the world's worst buddy reader!

Right, as for the book... I enjoyed it. The only Bryson I've read before this was his book about hiking in my native UK and, perhaps because this book deals with territory I'm a lot less familiar with, I preferred this one. I enjoyed Bryson's wry, despairing sense of humour. I enjoyed his interactions with his walking-buddy, Katz (not sure of the spelling; I listened to the audiobook) who was both hilariously annoying and quite sweet on occasion. I enjoyed Bryson's many educational tangents into the history of the area they were currently walking through.

Why only four stars then? Well, there isn't really anything wrong with the book that I can exactly put my finger on, but I just didn't enjoy it quite enough to warrant the full five stars. I wish I could tell you why; I just can't quite bring myself to give it five out of five. Maybe some of the people they encounter are just a little too irritating to be thoroughly enjoyable. Maybe some of the historical tangents are just a little too tangential. Maybe I'm just an arse.

Despite this, I certainly enjoyed it enough to read more Bryson in the future. (That's kind of redundant isn't it? It's not like I can read more Bryson in the past...)
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
JoHou
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This book was a hilarious read that I did not see coming. I was skeptical, not sure if a book about hiking would be particularly interesting. I was completely caught off guard! My stomach muscles were aching from all the laughing, and I was also touched by the wonderful friendship between Bryson and his hiking buddy. Read this if you want to learn something new and laugh at the same time!
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