After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as "The Mother Tongue" and "Made in America", decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells. With wit and irreverence, Bill Bryson presents the ludicrous and the endearing in equal measure. The result is a social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain.
About the Author
Bill Bryson is much loved for his bestselling travel books, from The Lost Continent to Down Under, but Notes from a Small Island has earned a particularly special place in the nation's heart (a national poll for World Book Day in 2003 voted it the book that best represents Britain). His acclaimed A Short History of Nearly Everything won the Aventis Prize for Science Books and the Descartes Science Communication Prize. He has now returned to live in the UK with his wife and family. www.billbryson.co.uk
Prizes
Bill Bryson's hilarious tour of his adopted country: the book that was voted the nation's favourite book on modern Britain in a World Book Day BBC poll.
Reviews
"Not a book that should be read in public, for fear of emitting loud snorts" The Times "Laugh-out-loud funny" The Good Book Guide "Splendid... What's enjoyable is that there's as much of Bryson in here as there is of Britain" Sunday Telegraph "Bryson is funny because he is not afraid to give completely of himself" Daily Express
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Reviews
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Its out there, seeems unrealistic and is a bit f a let down. You dont seem to be able to dissappear into this one and you cant seeem to get the imagination going on it either.
Here is an exert maybe you can do better than me....it just want for me what can I say ?
The Llandudno train was gratifyingly empty, so I took a seat at a table for four, and contented myself with the thought that I would soon be in a nice hotel or guesthouse where I could have a hot bath followed by a generously apportioned dinner. I spent a little time watching the scenery, then pulled out my copy of The Kingdom by the Sea to see if Paul Theroux had said anything about the vicinity that I could steal or modify to my own purposes. As always, I was amazed to find that as he rattled along these very tracks he had been immersed in a lively conversation with his fellow passengers. How does he do it? Quite apart from the consideration that my carriage was nearly empty, I don't know how you you strike up conversations with strangers in Britain. In America, of course, it's easy. You just offer a hand and say, "My name's Bryson. How much money did you make last year?" and the conversation never looks back from there.
This American-turned-Englishman has a brilliant way of seeing each side of the Atlantic from the other's perspective. He uncovers the quirky, dull, fascinating and unforgettable elements of England that he discovered in a farewell tour of his second home. Bryson doesn't just show the reader around England; he takes us WITH him through the back roads, historic sites, bad weather, indifferent food, long walks, and wonderful discoveries he encounters along the way.
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