Itemize Books In Favor Of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
| Original Title: | The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir |
| ISBN: | 076791936X (ISBN13: 9780767919364) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | United States of America |
Bill Bryson
Hardcover | Pages: 288 pages Rating: 3.94 | 54009 Users | 4582 Reviews
Present Out Of Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
| Title | : | The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid |
| Author | : | Bill Bryson |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 288 pages |
| Published | : | October 17th 2006 by Broadway Books (first published 2006) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Humor. Biography. Audiobook. Biography Memoir |
Commentary Toward Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950sBill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid."
Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.
Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
Rating Out Of Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Ratings: 3.94 From 54009 Users | 4582 ReviewsAssess Out Of Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
America, the 1950s, and the golden age of plenty.Welcome to the world of Bill Bryson - the original Thunderbolt Kid. News paper clipping...SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (AP)The State Senate of Illinois yesterday disbanded its Committee on Efficiency and Economy for reasons of efficiency and economy.Des Moines Tribune, February 6, 1955Bill recalls life from a child's viewpoint as America expanded into the world.I CANT IMAGINE there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to be alive than America in theEven though this is a memoir it is difficult not to think about it in the context of other superhero/childhood stories. Kavalier and Clay and Fortress of Solitude come to mind. Among these books the Thunderbold Kid falls flat. The image Bryson paints of the fifties is truly magnificent. He really captures the excitement of the beginning of the space age. It is when he is elaborating on this time that I am captivated, but when he speaks specifically about his own life I get a little bored. His
the bloody head-bashing-in-story.that was the critical turning point in the novel-reading for me, personally. the moment i realized bill bryson is a comedic wonderchild. the moment i was simultaneously overjoyed to have discovered him as a writer and depressed i wasted so much time trying to pretend erma bombeck could truly capture the lasting effects of one's childhood experiences with sex ed. the moment i spit an unhealthy mixture of sprite and airline peanuts all over the back of a poor old
Bill Bryson's travel writing is often hilarious and usually perceptive. In many ways this book Brysons memoir of growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s and 1960s - is also travel writing. In remembering and sharing his past, Bryson takes his readers to another place and time, both of which he vividly evokes in the narrative. I laughed a lot while listening to Bryson read the audiobook version of his memoir. At times I laughed so much that there was a risk my bus commute would be
This was a hilarious memoir from Bill Bryson. I grew up in Iowa too, so it made the book even a little better. Highly recommended!
Awesome memoir and it was a fun read. The photos are nice, the news clips are hilarious. 1950s US was quite like India of 1990s but of course India was poorer by a lot of margin. Thunderbolt kid was awesome and it was good to visit a town of past. Now I am on to his other book * A walk in the woods* as always keep on reading.People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to
I listened to this on CD, read by the author, so of course it was wonderful. I'll definitely be seeking it out in print at some point. Things go by so fast on audio that you can't go back and re-enjoy the really good parts. Even if you don't give a rodent's posterior about Iowa, this book is thoroughly enjoyable. Bryson is hilarious while at the same time providing a lot of interesting historical things about the 1950s and 60s, both the good and the bad. He really tells a great story about his
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