"THE Book"

[The Weasel]

It's time. There's a 300 pound elephant in our living room, and everyone's avoiding mentioning him. And it's a needful discussion. Let's keep it fairly civil, though; strong opinions don't have to be stated offensively....Here it goes:

What is your feeling about "A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson? If you haven't read it, you'll hear a lot in following posts, I suspect, and you should if only to understand what we're talking about.

A lot of people dislike Bryson, for a lot of reasons. He didn't hike the whole AT, he exaggerated wildly (to be charitable about it) and got a lot of information incorrect. He mocked a fair number of types of people, especially "gearheads", and had some pretty pointed opinions about others that were clearly stated, even if they weren't welcomed by the targets.

Still, Bryson's book was the reason I started the AT in '00, and as a result fell in love with this wonderful, strange, boring, exciting, unusual, repetitive rut through a green tunnel (summer) and through snowbanks (winter). It started when my daughter gave me a copy. "Dad, you've always said you wanted to walk this trail. This book is pretty funny, maybe it will help you decide." I read it, and found that he was a travel writer (and not a hiker) much like Mark Twain was as a travel writer ("Innocents Abroad", "Roughing It" and a lot more). Twain, also, made a lot of fun of targets that didn't necessarily like it, exaggerated wildly (that bullfrog incident may not have exactly have happened as he relates it), and wrote scathingly of people and groups who maybe he shouldn't have taken on. But they're still great books.

I enjoyed it. I discounted a lot of what he said, wondered about the accuracy of other parts (to my regret, I didn't find a lot of gear thrown by the sides of the Springer approach), and ended up feeling that, despite it all, he'd made me want to walk this Trail. So despite its faults, I'm grateful to him for what he led me to do.

OK, folks. Other opinions?

[SGT Rock]

I've taken a lot of flak for liking the book. Ok, there are things I hate about the book, but there are some funny parts to it too. Often I read journals or books about hikes and I feel that they take it too seriously. Maybe it's just me, but I like ending the day by laughing at myself for something I did wrong or stupid and I could get into that aspect of Bryson's Book - the pointing out some of the absurdity. As example: the hiker with the pack with the window in it.

I also look at it (from a non-thru hiker but aspiring thru-hiker perspective) as a book on how NOT to do a thru hike.

[Hammock Hanger]

Ya just had to bring it up didn't ya! Hammock Hanger

[The Weasel]

Hammy Hanger...well, yeah, I had to. There've been some cryptic references here in this forum, such as a recent one to Baltimore Jack (who, of course you know, lives in Hannover, NH as does Bryson) as well as others comments. And the debate rages on, and it's a fair one, too; everyone's a critic in this world, and that's cool. Although Bill's a bit gunshy of AT people...

True story: In '00, after I came off the trail, my wife and I visited her family in Norwich, VT. Still with my trail beard and long hair, and wearing shorts and a tee - in other words, resembling a thru hikder - we went to the Dartmouth Co-Op to shop for something to read, and behold! There stands Bill Bryson schlepping his newest, about Australia, signing away happily. (A lot of Aussies felt some uncharitable thoughts about Bill, too, by the way.) I sidled up, stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, Bill! I'm the Weasel, just off the AT, and I read your book." He got a sort of worried look, and started slowly backing off in a nervous fashion. I got the sense he was wondering if he should call Security, or whether it was too late and he hadn't made out a will. I smiled and kept going.

The Weasel

[slabfoot]

I too though maybe inpired and bemused by bryson's rambling prose had to admire his ability to capture my attention, i volunteered my hardback copy to a shelter outhouse with express direction not to be read but only to use the paper for hygenic purposes. his hit's on pa (my home) after only driving through the palmerton wasteland made me shuddder with the unfairness he cast upon the beauty of our missippian pocono sandstone conglomerate witch is the common but beautiful backbone of our ridge formations. comon, give me a break! my sister kathy and my daughter spent the best part of this past monday on peters mountain near clarks ferry shelter and maybe i'm a bit biased but it was not much short of awsome(from my daughters vocabulary) still i don't discount bryson as a gifted humorist and writer. it's not a lost tome if it encourages me to spend more of my time enjoying a "walk in the woods".

[chris]

I thought the book was a very funny work of fiction. It did, however, bear some resemblance to reality as I met a several of the types of people that Bryson derides (including himself) during my Springer->Damascus hike this May. Most of these were in the very beginning and tended to leave the trail around Neels Gap or sooner. It should be read, as with Twain, with a complete skepticism towards the veracity of the text.

[Peaks]

Read the book for what it is, and is not.

It's certainly not a how to book, and I think that may be the principal reason why dedicated thru-hiker type people don't like it.

However, you have to admit that he has a different outlook on the Appalachian Trail than everyone else, and that what makes it an interesting book to read.

And another point. He yellow blazes and doesn't complete the trek. Now, being honest, about 85 to 90% of the people who start out to thru-hike don't finish either, so in that sense, he is writing about a much more typical hike eperience than those of us who did complete.

I enjoyed reading the book for what it was.

Now, I wasn't one of the people mentioned in the book either. I'm sure that they have a different take on things. Wonder what Jensine has to say.

[jensine]

Okay Peaks, I wasn't going to get in on this one, but since you asked I will respond. First this thread has been on every other AT Forum for the past 6 years. It's been disected, bisected, chewed, eaten, spit out.. oh well you get my drift. Anyway, first, unlike the majority of you folks, Bryson had no desire to hike the AT. He was contracted by his publisher to write the book. When the book was given to us and our 6-7 pages of "glory" were highlighted by our gracious gift givers. We took the book to our attorney. (Please Weasel no comments) We were not looking to sue or anything, what we were after was a public apology. The very first page of the book's intro states that names, etc. have been changed yadayadayada....
Well folks, how many of you know anybody named Jensine?? besides me??
The book clearly names us "Buddy and Jensine Crossman, owners of Rainbow Springs Campground on Old Hwy 64 in Franklin, N.C." Not many changes there!!! Some of you read my post yesterday about weather.
Well Billy boy and Katz were the last to arrive. All the cabins were
full, there were only two bunks left in the bunkhouse. Yes, it was snowing. We did our best to accomodate everyone. Most were satisfied under the circumstances. One part I loved about the book, was when he states they all climbed into the van that the kid had hitched into Franklin to get and Buddy and I looked in dismay as they left. No we were not dismayed that they left. We were dismayed that this kid had gone to the Franklin Plymouth dealer, rented a new 7 passenger van, and proceeded to pile 11 hikers with 11 wet packs in it. And you wonder why hikers don't always have a good reputation.
Folks, yes, we have had hikers sleep in the laundromat, they were grateful just to be out of the elements. We let one couple sleep in the store during bad weather. One year we were so packed, the weather was bad, I rented our guest room to a hiker.
You'd be suprised at how many hikers didn't plan on coming here, but came in just to see if we were the a** holes that Bryson made us out to be and were pleasantly suprised and stayed. I've had folks come in and ask me to autograph their copy of "Walk in the Woods". I've had folks want their picture taken with me holding the book, It's really become a big joke around here. So take the book however you want. I think this thread should be closed soon, as most of the posters here have been through it all on other forums.

Jensine
www.dnet.net/rainbowsprings

[The Weasel]

Well, haven't seen any rules that I can't comment, so I will....

This is a valuable thread, I think, because while those of us who have some experience in past years in Trailplace.com are aware of each other's feelings and opinions, there are a lot of newcomers to the Trail who, like me (and I think like a lot of others) have read "A Walk In The Woods" and found in it things that brought them to the trail. Equally, there are things that give newcomers questions, such as, "Do people really throw a lot of gear away on the approach trail to Springer?", or "Do gearheads really drive you crazy?" and, yes, "Is Rainbow Springs populated with crackpots?" and the rest of all of it. I think there's a certain value in the newbies knowing that Bryson sometimes told the truth, sometimes exaggerated, and, yes, sometimes engaged in flat out misstatements and that his book is not particularly liked by a lot of the service providers along the AT. So I hope that people - particularly those who are new to this topic - continue to comment and ask, and that those who are old to it will continue to respond.

[jensine]

As I said, I wasn't even going to post on this thread, but Peaks asked me to. I didn't tell anyone NOT to read the book. And the No comment Weasel was a friggin joke!! Geez Weasel, lighten up alittle!!
I was asked as a service provider about my thoughts on the book. I don't believe I said anything bad about the book in my post. I merely did what Peaks asked me to do. And since there were quite a few providers mentioned in the book, with their names changed, with nasty comments about them too, it is not a true read on service providers. I feel he must have liked us best to write our real names and location and give of 7 pages in his famous book.

Jensine
www.dnet.net/rainbowsprings

[Jack Tarlin]

My main beef with the book is that whatever its intent, or however it was meant to be taken---as a humor/travel book, whatever----it's a pity that a work that serves to introduce so many folks to the Trail is such a shabbily researched, mistake-ridden, inaccurate work. AWITW contains over a hundred factual errors---geographical errors, historical errors, placename errors, Trail history errors, mileage errors, you name it. I can document this, and sometime, maybe this winter, I'll transfer what's on the legal pad and put it on the Web. But for an alleged non-fiction work, written by a former journalist, this is pretty low.
Just one example---when speaking about the history of Norwich, VT, and its most famous resident, one Alden Partridge (Pg 215 of his book), Bryson makes no less than 3 historical errors regarding the man's personal history. And all this in one paragraph! If his book was so sloppily writtten and fact-checked what he can't be trusted to write accurately about the history of a community only 3 minutes from his home, then why on earth should he be trusted when writing about communities he knows nothing about, such as small towns in the South?

Awww, I don't wanna get into this. It's a horrible, miserable book; I have no doubt that most of the people he talks about and incidents he relates were imaginary or highly embellished; the book was first and always written for its commercial possibilities; Bryson to my knowledge has given NOTHING back to the Trail, the ATC, or the Trail community even tho the book made him millions, as well as making him famous. In person, he's a perfectly amiable, perfectly nice guy. I see him now and again in town when he's not waltzing around the world researching equally inaccurate travel books---he's kind of a rabbity, plump, tweedy little fellow, looks like he teaches English composition or social studies at a second-rate private school. But no, he's not a bad fellow. He just wrote a bad book. My mom was a librarian and I learned at an early age that if a book is found in the non-fiction section, than the facts and statements contained therein should be genuine and true ones. This is decidedly NOT the case in A Walk in the Woods. Nice fellow. Miserable book.

[The Weasel]

Interestingly, while Bill Bryson is not welcome in significant parts of the area surrounding the AT - Jensine is quite right about his propensity for knocking service providers regardless of how good they really are - it's nothing compared to how the Aussies feel about him. Not content to irritate an area 2000 miles long by maybe 5 miles wide (counting hostels etc and trail towns), in his book about Australia he managed to piss off major parts of an entire continent!

The Weasel

The Weasel

[Former Admin]

I loved this book before I ever stepped foot on the trail. Then after I hiked some of the trail and met some of the service providers and visited some of the towns he mentioned, my view on the book changed some. a good example would be when I hitched into Hiawasee, I was expecting it to be full of toothless people driving pick-ups with Rebel Flag and Smith & Wesson stickers plastered all over the back window of they're pick-ups. That wasn't the case and I felt very comfortable being a Yankee in this southern town, as I did all towns I visited.

However will all this, the book is well written and funny as hell if you can look past the bashing and no it isn't a guide like Peaks said nor should be taken for one.

I can probably say this and most will agree, That no one man or writer has created more interest in the Appalachian Trail than he has.
Thousands and thousands of people read his book at first with out knowing squat about the Appalachian Trail and he opened the door for them. Then people would proceed to find other material about the trail, such as guide books, journal books etc..

This below is what is written in my journal at http://trailjournals.com

"Now that im on the subject of people with a sense of humor, whats the deal with so many people slamming Bill Bryson and his book "Walk in The Woods". I found his book and humor amazing. Yes he makes fun of people from the south, but the people from the south make fun of us yankees also, and I don't take that as an insult. I can't tell ya how many times I have heard "We should have won" I never tire of this phrase ........ its good humor ....... LOL. Anyways had I not read Bill Brysons book I would have never been on the AT or enjoyed the experience's I have. I literly read his book and went hiking weeks later, so I guess you can say he was a big influence on me. Yes he makes fun of people, but so does David Letterman and Jay Leno on a daily basis and we laugh at their jokes, whats the difference I don't see it."

Jensine please don't take offense " I know your place is nothing like he mentions as most do" If you remember my sarcastic first words when I walked through your door, "So this is the Imfamous place Bill Bryson writes about" As you can see his book for me, had no effect on me visiting the Imfamous Rainbow Springs or not.

[jensine]

No offense taken. I'm tougher than that. Everyone is entitled to the own opinion. And I still ike you anyway!!!!
Jensine
www.dnet.net./rainbowsprings

[jensine]

Oh doo doo, my fingers weren't working!!!

[Uncle Wayne]

I don’t know how I missed this thread but here is my take on AWITW by Bryson. I enjoyed the book, taken for what it is and what it clearly states in the disclaimer: the author’s experience and opinions as he walked the AT. It is not meant to be a “do it this way” book. It is not even meant to be scientifically or historically accurate although I guess the case can be made that when a writer states anything besides his personal opinion, the statement should be as accurate as possible. The disclaimer also states that “some” not all of the names have been changed to protect privacy.
I’ve never been to Rainbow Springs so I can’t comment on the conditions as Bryson saw them and no one except the people there under those conditions can do so accurately. But one thing is for certain, no matter what kind of facility Bryson would have entered under those extreme conditions he would have found the system in place stretched to the max, just as he did at Rainbow Springs. So I don’t think it fair to judge Rainbow Springs based on what Bryson said but if you read between the lines, the system in place at Rainbow Springs worked. It provided shelter, warmth and food to needy hikers, which is basically what each person who went there were looking to attain.
But there are several thoughts / feelings Bryson mentions that I have thought or felt while hiking the AT. Here are a few: The high price of backpacking gear; after leaving the confines of town and hiking again he says, “I just walked. I was very happy;” He stated somewhere “there wasn’t a day that passed on the Appalachian Trail that I didn’t give thanks for what was there.” The hurt and pain caused by the murder of hikers on the AT; needless technology on the trail; the loss of our natural environment, including wildlife, by the encroachment of “progress;” the longing to see your family; the withdrawal symptoms after leaving the trail, even as a section hiker; and after being home, the longing to get back on the trail. I’ve been the hiker who had to wait on a slower partner and then I’ve been the slower partner who someone else had to wait on. I’m sure most of you have felt some of the same things.
So I recommend reading the book and see if you don’t remember some of the same emotions Bryson felt as he hiked the AT.

[MedicineMan]

proud to say I have never read it....but I have given it away as a gift many times...all who recieved enjoyed

[Lone Wolf]

great book. highly recommend it to all newbies. can't wait for the movie

[MOWGLI]

great book. highly recommend it to all newbies. can't wait for the movie

You starting a dredging business Lone Wolf?

[weary]

A Walk ... is funny and well-written -- at least for a magazine article padded out to fill a book. My criticism is that he describes a trail that is at best only tangentially related to the trail I walked and worked on for a half century.

The trail reflects more library research than trail experience.

It's clear Bryson disliked the trail and the people he met on the trail from the beginning. There is no evidence in the book that he even talked to most hikers. The "characters" in the book are Bryson, Katz and a couple of mostly imagined stereotypes.

Yes, Bryson is a skilled writer. However, he wrote a novel this time, not a travel book.

Weary