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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

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

I love Bryson narrated Bryson books.

I love Bill Bryson's books read by the author. Unfortunately only the abridged version was available narrated by the author. It's obviously much shorter than the original title but very much worth a look.

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Awesome

Love it. Huge fan of Bill Bryson anyway but this was easily his best work

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

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

Funny, informative and deeply moving

Loved it - especially the reading by Bill Bryson. Learned a lot, laughed and almost wished I could hike the AT too. Almost.

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

I recommend this book

Always an enjoyable read the way Bill writes with a sense of humour and backed by thorough research. Upliftingly entertaining & educational at the same time. Not in the league of A Short History of Everthing but still recommendable.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Wish it was unabridged

Really enjoyed it, however wish he narrated the full book. (partly my fault for not checking properly before purchase) Still enjoyable but definitely left me hanging.

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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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    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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