Travel to United States

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

Format: Hardcover
Author: Bill Bryson
ReleaseDate: 17 October, 2006
Publisher: Broadway
Rating:

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
At times it was hysterical! I laughed out loud so much my husband kept asking me what was so funny! At other times it was very sobering. This book was well-written. Bryson is a master at his trade. (The only negative, to me, was that Bryson's language was occassionally more "colorful" than I am comfortable with. ).

An Entertaining Read...But


Out of all his books, including the two on linguistics (Mother Tounge and Made In America), "Thunderbolt" is quite up to the level of his others. I want to rate this a THREE AND A HALF STARS - C'mon Amazon, give us half stars please??? Anyhoo, on with the review. There were many funny moments and his writing style is as engaging as ever. It just seemed a bit, oh I don't know. . . light on substance - its about as close as I can come to putting my finger on what I don't like about it. The ancedotes of a childhood in the late 50's and early 60s were evocative, funny and poignant - and I would argue that while that golden age has passed, there will be many more memories just as golden for future generations. I esp. loved hearing about his friend Willoughby and his less than steller academic history (proof that life is what you make of it and not just what you study). That said, my absolute favorite part. . . the cherry on top, was hearing about Stephen Katz again - even better, hearing that he is happy and doing well. If ever a true life character has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers, Stephen Katz is it. . . Pardon me, Mr. Bryson? Could we have more Katz please?? Oh. . . and we miss you here in the States.

You don't have to be 60 to understand, but it helps
It's pure nostolgia about a lost childhood when things were simple, people were nice, and the only fear you had was of the neighborhood bully. You don't have to be 60 and have grown up in Iowa to understand Bryson's latest book, but it helps. Bryson captures it all; the wonder and reckless fearlessnes of growing up in Iowa in the 1950's.

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