Review of Bill Bryson's funny travel books

thedailychannel.com — recommended books

A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson.

We really enjoyed A Walk in the Woods. It is just as funny and just as rewarding as his other books. And it's a quicker read. I felt sorry that Bryson and Katz didn't walk the whole distance of the trail, but they learned as much as if they had.

I did wonder if Katz was a real person, and not just someone Bill Bryson made up, to illustrate human weakness, foibles, and stupidity on the Appalachian T\rail.

Surprisingly enough, hundreds of readers have reviewed A Walk in the Woods at amazon.com. Most of them liked it as much as we did, or even more. Many of them laughed until they cried, and also learned quite a bit of interesting history, two characteristics not often found together in a book, especially one devoted almost entirely to a backpacking trip.

reviewed June 13

There's no toilet paper on the road less travelled
edited by Doug Lansky

This incredibly funny collection of short travel writings will make you laugh out loud. Contrary to what one reviewer said, it's NOT all bathroom humor. And a couple of weeks after you read this book, your wife or husband will read you the same sections you already read, and you'll collapse into giggling laugher all over again.

reviewed February 14, 1999

The Lost Continent
by Bill Bryson

This is a very very funny book, especially if you like a good sarcastic wiseass. I have travelled all over the United States, so I read Bill Bryson's footling descriptions with great interest and occasional glee. Amazingly enough he travelled without any apparent goal or plan, so he really missed some wonderful stuff, often by only miles. Of course I can only say that because I'm a lot more widely travelled than he is, at least in the United States.

Not everyone liked this book, as you will see if you read the reviews. In fact some people were quite cheesed off by it. But it still has many passages you can read to your friends and you will all laugh out loud, unless you are so hypersensitive that you take offense at fun being poked at the good old U.S. of A. by a short fat expatriate who at times behaves like a total dork.

reviewed January 26, 1999

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A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson.