A Walk in the Woods

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Bill Bryson

Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

"Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire, I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town." So begins Bill Bryson's hilarious book, A Walk in the Woods. Following his return to America after 20 years in Britain, Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The AT, as it's affectionately known to thousands of hikers, offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes - and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to test his own powers of ineptitude, and to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this fragile and beautiful 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, a lament, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature.

©1998 Bill Bryson (P)1998 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Would be 5 stars if it weren't abridged

It's too short! Make Bill Bryson go back to the studio and record the rest of it! While you're at it, make him record unabridged versions of all those other books that are available here only in abridged editions!

Like Bill Bryson's writing in general, this book is always interesting and fun to read. No wasted space, no feeling of needing to take a nap halfway through a chapter. Engaging and entertaining.

Great story and dedication

I love the bits where they're on the trail the most. There are lots of little factoid bits about the National Park Service that are also interesting, but overall I loved the parts where they were on the trail the most.

Funny, informative and inspirational

Although I had already listened to the unabridged version of this book 2 years ago, I bought this version because I had just finished listening to "In a Sunburned Country" and love Bill Bryson's narration. This did not suffer at all from the abridgement and it was a wonderfully vicarious trip with Bryson and Katz on the Appalachian Trail. It even inspired this elevator habitue to take a walk through my own local woods!

Awesome! Don't think twice...

...especially if your between the ages of 38 and 55. Truth is better than fiction. Thanks, Bill Bryson and to your hiking companion, Katz. Wonderful audiobook. Also, thank you, Bill, for "voicing" the book yourself. It means a lot.

An enjoyable, entertaining, enlightening listen

Where does A Walk in the Woods rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book was one of the more enjoyable, light listens I've experienced. Bill Bryson is a good writer and his narration is very entertaining and personal. There are numerous humorous parts as well as some good information/statistics about the Park Service, the Appalachian Trail, small towns, bear attacks, etc.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Walk in the Woods?

I enjoyed Bill and Stephen's "restart" on the Trail. They seemed to have forgotten their earlier challenges, and just as they were picturing themselves as experienced "mountain men," they discovered otherwise.

Which character – as performed by Bill Bryson – was your favorite?

I thought Bill did a good job of voicing his own words and those of his partner, Stephen.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

An out-of-shape writer tackles the Appalachian Trail, tests his own physical limits, and the limits of close, continual contact with fellow hikers.

Any additional comments?

Hated to see it end. Would liked to have heard more introspection.

A walk in the woods- great story telling

I am a sectional hiker on the AT with my son a 2 dear friends. We have had our share of stories but this book is funny. The author is detailed in his account of the portions that he and Kats trecked and I totally can relate to it. Love the story telling and narration.

my all time FAVORITE book

I've listened to this book so many times I earned the repeat listener Audible badge from it. It's a great story about real friendship, facing challenges and different personalities, nature, and full of facts and historical information about the conservation and preservation of nature. I think it's suitable for any type of reader and is a must read. Of course, Bill's narration is perfect and it's the right balance between informative and story telling. I absolutely love it and recommend it to anyone.

Warning: Trail may lead across Europe &, England

The Appalachian Trail adventure of Walk in the Woods was the first Bill Bryson book I listened to and it launched me into his other travels ("Notes from a Small Island", "Neither Here Nor There").
Bryson reading his own books adds spirit to the tales. In "Walk in the Woods", the imagery he draws of his travelling buddy, Katz, lumbering through the woods makes the inexperienced Bryson appear out to be a mix of Daniel Boone and David Letterman. Some of the best moments are the more serious history of the AT, changes/losses of nature on the trail, and foolishness of the National Parks Circus. Bryson is even, he notes the vastness and hazards of the wilderness and relatively unvisited spaces, not arguing to make the AT some kind of museum piece. Walk in the Woods doesn't have as much of the wild exaggerations of his other books. It's all done with humor that makes every cranky bear laugh out loud.

Wish I could have given it 3.5 stars

Before I listened to the book I got the impression from an earlier reviewer that the author just spent the entire time criticizing his companion unmercifully. That's not at all what I took from the reading. I felt that the author did a fantastic job of describing his companion's (and his own) personal shortcomings, while still developing him as a real human being. In the end I believe it was obvious that the author admired his companion's ability and desire to battle his own demons and overcome his shortcomings. In fact, I found the interaction with his companion to be one of the most compelling parts of the story, and I don't believe the story would have been nearly as interesting had Katz not come along.

I do believe the author spent a little too much time deriding the Park Service and Forest Service. While they haven't always made the best and smartest decisions, overall we have a pretty nice system of National Parks, National Monuments and National Forests. The best in the world, in fact. It would have been nice to hear him temper his criticism just once by acknowledging that.

My other complaint is the abridgement. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it were unabridged.

However, overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I may listen to it again in the near future. In the meantime I have downloaded two more of the author's books.

A Walk in the Woods

Magnificient. An excellent listen for hikers or those who thing they want to be.