A Walk in the Woods
by Bill Bryson · first published 1997
13mentions
5recommended by
13HN commenters
2013–2024first – last mentioned
38% recommend62% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Funny, warm travelogue about hiking the Appalachian Trail that many readers call a fun read; often recommended for anyone considering a thru-hike and for readers who enjoy Bryson's humor.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Bill Bryson describes his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend "Stephen Katz". The book is written in a humorous style, interspersed with more serious discussions of matters relating to the trail's history, and the surrounding sociology, ecology, trees, plants, animals and people.
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…hiking, even when they're kinda boring." (I also really liked Wild, and liked that book, too...in that case, I think the film held up better against the book, as the book just wasn't in the same league as A Walk In The Woods, so the film had less to live up to).
on “What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike” ↗…one of my favorite authors, one of his best books, but I really recommend almost all of his books. "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein. Just read this a couple weeks ago, highly recommended. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Just another of my favorite authors, I recommend any of his books if you like travel books. Very witty and well written stuff. A Walk in the Woods is probably his best known book about…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗Your comment made me think of Bill Bryson's accounts of how people change on the trail in 'A Walk In The Woods'. Good book if anyone is considering a thru-hike, and it's just a fun read anyway.
on “What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike” ↗…Barker, Pat: The Ghost Road - Bausch, Richard: In the Night Season - Blauner, Peter: The Intruder - Bowles, Paul: The Sheltering Sky - Boyle, T. Coraghessan: The Tortilla Curtain - Bryson, Bill: A Walk in the Woods - Buckley, Christopher: Thank You for Smoking - Carver, Raymond: Where I’m Calling From - Chabon, Michael: Werewolves in Their Youth - Chorlton, Windsor: Latitude Zero - Connelly, Michael: The…
on “Stephen King: Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (2015)” ↗Bill Bryson. Enough said. "A Walk in the Woods" or "Notes from a Small Island" had me in stiches.
on “Ask HN: What makes you laugh?” ↗…Wheel of Time (Jordan) - Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas) Books that I plan on reading in 2020: - Little Women (Alcott) - Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet (Evans) - A Walk in the Woods (Bryson)
on “Ask HN: 2019 Winter Reading List?” ↗…had two sites: the now demolished West Plant, shown in pictures on the site, and the remaining East Plant. The East Plant and the damage it has wrought are famously described in Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods[0]. It's still standing just north of the ridge the Appalachian Trail passes by on. When I thru-hiked in 2010, vegetation was starting to take hold on the ridge and the slope leading town to the plant,…
on “Abandoned America” ↗…extremities, cardiac irregularities, facial paralysis, muscle spasms, severe mental impairment, loss of control of body functions, and — hardly surprising, really — chronic depression.” Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods
on “Website to Sign Up for the Lyme Disease Vaccine Phase 3 Trial” ↗The SS Empire Howard, though it was after they fell asleep. See http://books.google.se/books?id=2Zc9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73&... . The story you read was likely from Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods", which talks about 12 Danish fishermen, but that story doesn't seem to be correct in its details.
on “For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact” ↗> The parks are heavily curated and managed The Bill Bryson book on the Appalachian Trail (A Walk in the Woods) gives a very different impression. It seemed to him to be underfunded and pretty badly managed with individuals trying very hard despite limited funds and support. Alarmingly there was even logging being…
on “All U.S. National Parks Are Free to Enter on Sunday” ↗I thru-hiked in 2002 and at that point a lot of discussion was about the surge in hikers due to Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods". The movie comes out this fall so I expect even more hikers next year. Bad behavior by a few was a problem in 2002 and the offenders were mostly ignorant of the effects for those who came after them…
on “Hikers Behaving Badly: Appalachian Trail Partying Raises Ire” ↗…in the group. Despite our many differences, we all learned a lot from each other. I have similar strong memories about having breakfast at Shaw’s hiker hostel in Maine (the one featured in Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods). And many others. I hope to have many more experiences like that in my life.
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson.
on “Ask HN: What are you currently reading?” ↗