Customer Reviews
undeniably funny - By: URANIA, 15 Nov 2008 
I recommend buying this book for siblings, cousins, moms & dads, relatives, nephews, nieces, friends, colleagues, bosses etc etc. You will probably enjoy this book even if you are not a nature-lover & laugh out loud with the characters' predicaments!
Brilliant - By: Travel Queen, 13 Aug 2008 Bryson at his best. Funny, witty & a real talent at setting the atmosphere for the reader. Even my Dad liked it.
All quiet on the Appalachian Trail - By: B. Chandler, 30 Nov 2006 This book was written in the style of John McPhee & even quoting him once in a while. It includes facts & people like "The Perfect Storm." Then Bill Bryson adds first hand personal experiences. You can identify with his comments that do not have to be funny to be familiar.
This book recounts Bill Bryson's experiences on the Appalachian Trail. The dry facts can be picked up through other material. However the personal experiences are just that, personal. If you have never been hiking then you still get a feel for what you have missed. However if you have hiked then you can reallly appreciate the people he met, & circumstances that he went through. There are hikers & then there are hikers. In the Boy Scouts you are usuallly in a well-organized group, in the military you have to be more cautious of objects & terrain, Sierra Club & Outward Bound have their unique points of view. So if his experience is different, it still makes for fun reading.
I even liked the sections on selecting & using the equipment. I am afraid if I had met Bill Bryson on the trail; I would have been one of those "equipment comparing" people.
Anyway do not expect an epic & you will enjoy the time you spend reading this book. Oh, & it does make me want to go hiking.
