A Walk in the Woods

Traces the author's adventurous trek along the Appalachian Trail past its natural pleasures, human eccentrics, and offbeat comforts.

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"Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail"

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"Traces the author's adventurous trek along the Appalachian Trail past its natural pleasures, human eccentrics, and offbeat comforts."@en
""Hen journalist and travel writer Bill Bryson returned to the United States after 20 years in England, he could think of only one way to reacquaint himself with his native country: hike the Appalachian Trail. This book is his hilarious record of the dangers, quirky characters, and awe-inspiring scenery he encountered on his trek from Georgia to Maine. Stocking up for his journey at the sporting goods store, Bryson suspects he is getting into a lot more than a simple walk. There he is bewildered by a startling array of equipment, all designed to keep him alive in the great outdoors. Undaunted, he gathers his gear, says good-bye to his family, and sets off with a hiking companion even more unfit than himself. As Bryson travels slowly on foot, he shares his breath-taking adventures and the fascinating history of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail."--Publisher's web site."@en
"Returning to the U.S. after 20 years in England, Iowa native Bryson decided to reconnect with his mother country by hiking the length of the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail. Awed by merely the camping section of his local sporting goods store, he nevertheless plunges into the wilderness and emerges with a consistently comical account of a neophyte woodsman learning hard lessons about self-reliance. Bryson (The Lost Continent) carries himself in an irresistibly bewildered manner, accepting each new calamity with wonder and hilarity. He reviews the characters of the AT (as the trail is called), from a pack of incompetent Boy Scouts to a perpetually lost geezer named Chicken John. Most amusing is his cranky, crude and inestimable companion, Katz, a reformed substance abuser who once had single-handedly "become, in effect, Iowa's drug culture." The uneasy but always entertaining relationship between Bryson and Katz keeps their walk interesting, even during the flat stretches. Bryson completes the trail as planned, and he records the misadventure with insight and elegance. He is a popular author in Britain and his impeccably graceful and witty style deserves a large American audience as well."
""When journalist and travel writer Bill Bryson returned to the United States after 20 years in England, he could think of only one way to reacquaint himself with his native country; hike the Appalachian Trail." -- Container."
""A Walk in the Woods" is a fantastically funny account of Bill Bryson's months walking the Appalachian Trail. Bryson is one of the best of our comic writers, and in this new audiobook his wit sparkles as never before as he takes on the most daunting and most beautiful walk in the world. From Springer Mountain in Georgia right up to Mount Katahdin in Maine, the Appalachian Trail has fascinated generations of walkers with its challenge and breathtaking beauty. Now, it has a writer to match its grandeur. For reasons that even he doesn't understand, Bryson decided in 1996 to walk the trail on his return from a quarter century living on the "small island" of Great Britain. Starting out in Georgia, he and his infamous sidekick Katz (who appears in Neither Here Nor There; Bryson describes him as "single-handedly ensuring that Iowa has a thriving drug culture") attack the most beautiful and daunting trail, and in the process Bryson brings to life the great American outdoors. Spending damp nights in open shelters, feasting on noodles and candy bars, sweating up mountains and traipsing across swollen rivers, this is adventure and nature writing at its very best -- and funniest. One only has to read of Bryson's obsessive fear of bears, or his fight with a security guard who wants to impound his car (his crime was to try to look at a hill), or of Katz's encounter with Beulah and her fearsome husband "Bubba T. Flubba", to realize this is a comic writer at the height of his powers. And always in the background is the natural world, breathtaking and powerful, leading them on. Along the way Bryson uses his dart-like wit to serious effect to reveal just what we are in danger of losing. As he says, "if the global temperature rises by 4degreeF over the next 50 years, as is evidently possible, then the whole of the Appalachian wilderness below New England could become Savanna". This is powerful and timely stuff, and Bryson misses no opportunity to highlight just how the Appalachian Trail needs committed and insightful guardianship if it is to survive and prosper into the next century."
"Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2, 100 mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Known affectionately as the AT, it offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes. But for Bryson it also offered an opportunity for humor and irony as he learned the trail's hard lessons about self-reliance. He persuaded his friend Stephen Katz to join him for weeks and months on the trail."@en
"Bryson reconnects with America after twenty years abroad by hiking the Appalachian Trail."@en
"Back in America after twenty years in Britain, [the author] decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes. [It] provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings. For a start there's the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. Despite Katz's overwhelming desire to find cozy restaurants, he and [the author] eventually settle into their stride, and while on the trail they meet a bizarre assortment of hilarious characters. [The author's] acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, [this book] is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature.-Back cover."
"When journalist and travel writer Bill Bryson returned to the United States after twenty-years in England, he reacquainted himself with his native country by hiking the Appalachian Trail. This is the record of the dangers, quirky characters and awe-inspiring scenery he encountered on his trek from Georgia to Maine."
"Bryson shares his breath-taking adventures and the fascinating history of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, as he travels slowly on foot."
"Bryson shares his breath-taking adventures and the fascinating history of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, as he travels slowly on foot."@en
"Bryson relates the adventures and misadventures of two totally unfit hikers as he and longtime friend Stephen Katz traverse the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Returning from more than twenty years in Britain, he set out to rediscover his homeland, but the two men find themselves awed by the terrain and stymied by the unfamiliar local culture. His gruelling yet fascinating trek gave him a rare perspective on American life."@en
"Returning to America after twenty years, Bryson decides to walk the 2,100- mile Appalachian Trail. A laugh-out-loud hike as well as a history lesson."
"When journalist and travel writer Bill Bryson returned to the United States after 20 years in England, he could think of only one way to reacquaint himself with his native country: hike the Appalachian Trail."@en
"Stocking up for his journey at the sporting goods store, Bill Bryson suspects he is getting into a lot more than a simple walk. There he is bewildered by a startling array of equipment, all designed to keep him alive in the great outdoors. Undaunted, he gathers his gear, says good-bye to his family, and sets off with a hiking companion even more unfit than himself. As Bryson travels slowly on foot, he shares his breath-taking adventures and the fascinating history of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail."
"A hilarious account of Bryson's 2,100-mile hike along the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz."@en
"A hilarious account of Bryson's 2,100-mile hike along the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz."
"Following his return to America after twenty years in Britain, the author decides to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail."
"Unabridged."