Sunday, May 28, 2017

Book Review #43: A Walk in the Woods

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a non-fiction book written by Bill Bryson about his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail along with his boyhood friend, Stephen Katz. Prior to this Bryson was known for his books on hiking and travel in the United Kingdom and Europe. Hiking the Appalachian trail was a lot different than his previous hike. He tells about his adventures in his own humorous way.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail used to be a dream of mine, but with my health problems, I know that it will never happen. I have read people’s trail journals on the Internet telling of their hikes along the Appalachian Trail and picture in my mind doing it. I used to be a hiking merit badge counselor for Boy Scouts, so I already knew a lot of the terminology and requirements for hiking, so I had no problem following along with their hike in this book. My only complaint is that the author would start talking about stuff that happened in the areas they were hiking in the past, some of it not really related to hiking which started making it slow reading for me.

There is a saying in the hiking community, “Hike your own hike.” It means that there is no set rules that you have to hike by (most of the time), but do it your own way. Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz definitely did hike their own hike.

Purchase Links:
You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:



Tim’s Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check periodically for more book reviews.




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