Notes from a Big Country
by Bill Bryson
Category: Travel & Holiday / Travel Writing
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
Publication date: 5 June 1999
Number of pages: 416
Description:
From perfectly formed potatoes to adulterous US presidents, and from domestic upsets to millennial fever, Bill Bryson just cannot resist airing his opinions and standing up for his (mostly) law-abiding fellow American citizens. But of course after twenty years in England, he is now back on the other side of the pond, and is obviously having a little trouble finding his true American self again. After vigorous exercise on the Appalachian Trail comes this edited collection of Bryson's most splenetic comic pieces culled from his humorous regular column in the Mail on Sunday.
Review:
'Here's a fact for you. According to the latest Statistical Abstract of the USA, every year more than 400,000 Americans suffer injuries involving beds, mattresses or pillows... In the time it takes you to read this article, four Americans will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding...' So begins one of 78 of Bryson's hilarious weekly dispatches written for The Mail on Sunday. These wide-ranging, pacey articles deal with many aspects of life in America as experienced by Bryson on his return from a 20-year stay in England. And there are no limits to the breadth of his world view, from miracles of modern technology such as garbage disposal machines, through sheriffs, computers and a visit to the barbers, not forgetting the joys of nature, under the intriguing heading 'Our Friend the Moose'. Bryson is inimitable. How can you resist? (Kirkus UK)
What the papers say:
"One of his best books" -- Scott Bradfield Independent "Delightful bite-size essays that exude affection while debunking the ridiculous with wonderful succinctness... This is not a book to be read in a single sitting. It is one to be savoured" -- Martin Fletcher The Times "Bill Bryson's answer to Alistair Cooke's Letter From America...not only hilarious but also insightful and informative" -- Jeremy Atiyah Independent on Sunday "Bryson is great when explaining the idiosyncracies of America to middle England and making it funny... He is both serious and contemtuously funny" Guardian
Author's Biography:
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
In Stock: 36 copies
