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  • A Walk in the Woods

  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: Bill Bryson
  • Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (205 ratings)

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A Walk in the Woods

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Bill Bryson
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Publisher's Summary

The Appalachian Trail covers 14 states, and over 2,000 miles. It stretches along the East Coast of the United States, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. It is famous for being the longest continuous footpath in the world. (Compare this with the Pennine Way, which is a mere 250 miles long.) It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas - 'redneck' country - Moonshine, Lil’ Abner, 'There’s bears in them thar hills.' Remember the film Deliverance?

God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake this gruelling hike. Perhaps it was just a long-held ambition to lose weight: he has lost two stone so far. As he recently wrote from the trail to his publisher: ‘Speaking of vigorous exercise, boy have I just had some. Maine was a bitch. I want you to come back and walk it with me so that when you die if you go to hell you will be able to say: “Call this hell? Try walking across Maine in August.'"

Reared in the tradition of Mark Twain, James Thurber, and S.J. Perelman, Bryson used his many years in Britain to soak up a peculiarly English sense of irony and humour and to hone a laugh-out-loud style that is uniquely, hilariously, his own.

©2004 Bill Bryson (P)2004 Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about A Walk in the Woods

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome book

loved it. Bill excellent story teller. I just can't get tired of listening to this book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Funny & Entertaining

Another Bryson cracker .
Very enjoyable . To anyone interested in Tramping /Walking , its very good read .
For everyone else , equally so

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A must read!

I loved this book. Humorous, warm, educational and very relatable. Bill Bryson is a wonderful narrator.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not a guide but a story hikers will relate to

Bill Bryson has written a story that will remind hikers why they venture out. It won't help you hike but it might give you some inspiration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Adored it!

My Only criticism was an editing of some of my favourite excerpts namely the lively mice!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

We hear so much about the amazing AT , yet I live thousands of miles away on another continent, I wanted to learn why a trail is famous the world over and now I understand. A true account to listen too whilst I drive to the trailhead of the Australian Alps walking trail wishing I was in USA about to hit the AT ?.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An honest revelation of a failure of sorts.

Entertaining, but this gives an appreciation of how hard the AT must be. Normal people would have never written a book about the attempt, how many thousands of hikers must have thought it was "A Walk In The Woods" and given up defeated. A great tale.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

The book was really entertaining and absolutely hilarious. Bill Bryson does a really good job at narrating as well adding an extra special touch to the experience.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Love Bill. Love USA wilderness. Didn’t love this book.

I love Bill Bryson. I love his witty & astute observations of people in particular. Unfortunately there weren’t many people inhabiting this narrative. This narrative was sometimes interesting but more often a test of endurance. Bill found the going tough and so did I! It was laced with facts, which sometimes enhanced the journey.
I love Bill so it pains me to say that I felt his narration may have contributed to the monotony of the storytelling.
For me, this was a disappointment.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Witty, entertaining.

A great trail story. Witty and entertaining, well written and well read. A nice change from many other ‘successful’ trail stories. Thoroughly recommend.

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