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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail |  | Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $3.55
as of 9/3/2010 08:00 PDT details
You Save: $4.44 (56%)
Seller: booksinatrice
Rating:  1178 reviews
Sales Rank: 1394
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 397
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307279464
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.40443
EAN: 9780307279460
ASIN: 0307279464
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780307279460 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
Product Description
The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1178
 If Laughter is the Best Medicine, than this is the cure for everything September 3, 2010
Marcy Casterline O'Rourke (Bellingham, Washington)
I majored in Environmental Science many years ago. One of my professors had hiked a southern section of the Appalachian trail for his honeymoon in spring when the whole trail was in glorious bloom. It had been a spectacular experience which I had always envied, but never gotten the chance to copy. I'm afraid my Environmental Science Professor and his wife were ten times the outdoor people I would ever be. So this book was perhaps my vicarious trip on the Appalachian trail. I'm sure my adventures would have been similarly hilariously disastrous. I laughed so hard at almost every page of this book, that I probably got as much exercise as I would have had I hiked the trail. If you've ever harbored the seductive notion that getting back to nature is an easy trip, this book will riotously disabuse you of that misconception. If you like to laugh, get this book and read it often. And be sure to keep for those days when laughter is hard to come by.
Laugh out loud funny! August 28, 2010
Indian Prairie Public Library (Darien, IL)
An unlikely duo attempts to tackle the over 2000 mile hike that is the Appalachian Trail. Laugh out loud as they trudge through the wilderness toward a very distant goal.
Funny? August 23, 2010
Emma Dot (Southern California)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A woman at work walked up to me and started talking to me. Never saw this lady before who had the charisma of a zombie and a face that spooked me, so I thought, UGH, How do I escape? Feeling remorseful for this creature I inquired about the book she was holding. A man hiking through the Appalachian Trail and it's funny, she said. Yea, right. How can an entire book about hiking be humorous? Dragon breath. Anyway, she looked like she just crawled out of the grave, no thanks lady! Not taking your recommendation, woman. So, I moved on.
Days later, I photocopied the back of Stephen King's reading recommendations in "How to Write" and I thought I'd take this list to Borders and perform a magical blind finger pick to the photocopy. It landed on "A Walk in the Woods." Kismet.
I'd rather be pokerfaced while reading my books at work on my breaks. However this book made my head jerk back voluntarily and grins of amusement made me stand out like a laughing hyena. I'm now a break room spectacle.
The Zombie Woman was correct. This not only is this an amusing paperback but it's a gentle call to the destruction of nature and a mini lesson (maybe 2 pages) in science, which if Bill Bryson wrote text books for students, well, at least for me, I think I would've gotten a better grade in Science. He wrote about a tree, and maybe it's my interpretation, but it leads one to wonder about---who's the Maker? Maybe it's just me.
The highlight of his paperback is the author's rapport with his hiking buddy. I'm a nature girl, so I trotted along with this odd pair pleasantly engaged to the very end of their grueling expedition.
Happy Trails/Happy Reading!
I Bought Hiking Boots August 17, 2010
Gary Dichtenberg
The best thing about "Walk in the Woods" is my desire to do the same. I have got to see - walk a part of the AT. So, I bought some hiking boots. When a book moves the reader something special has occurred. Highly recommended.
Bryson at his BEST! August 16, 2010
D. Sorel (Massachusetts USA)
To be honest, I picked up this book at a library sale but never had any intention of reading it. I love Bill Bryson and have read some of his other work but a book about his hiking the Appalachian Trail is something I would NEVER read! Strangely enough, I was bored one hot summer day and cracked it open only to find myself completely enthralled and racing through it as if it was a thriller. In other words, I loved it. So I supposed I have to say, Bryson may know my reading tastes better than myself!
The book starts with Bryson getting the idea that he should walk the Appalachian Trail as a way to reacquaint himself with his homeland. For twenty years, he had lived with his wife and four children in England. In 1995, they all moved back to the states and settled in New Hampshire (Bryson and his family have since moved BACK to the UK). Always an avid lover of nature but never much of a hiker, Bryson decides he'll hike from the southern most spot on the AT (Appalachian Trail) to Mount Katahdin in Maine. As is usual with Bryson, he reads all about the subject and focuses a great deal on bear stories, deaths out on the trail, and the sordid history of the trail itself. He spends copious amounts of money on his gear and plans out an extremely optimistic hiking schedule. As the date gets closer, he worries about doing the journey on his own until his old childhood friend from Des Moines, Iowa calls and asks if he can come along. The two were hiking buddies years before and the experience had almost ruined their friendship, however, Bryson jumps at the thought of having company. Bryson chronicles their hiking and adds in chapters on the history of the trail, the history of the National Parks Service, even the history of some of the towns that they stop in. He really does a thorough job and in under 300 pages (for the paperback), it flies by!
I have to say that I learned much more in this book than I ever thought possible. When the historic chapters came up, I often thought about skipping them but found myself just as engrossed as I was in the chapters detailing Katz and Bryson's odd couple-esque hiking trip. Bryson's reflections on the importance and significance of the AT in his life as well as in that of America is extremely well articulated. I have to say that it's the complete package! Bryson's humor always makes me chuckle but this book proves that he can also handle serious matters with great insight and understanding. It's excellent as far as I am concerned and certainly a read that anyone can enjoy (and how often can you say that about a book?!)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1178
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