Particularize 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
Declare Appertaining To 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 | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 288 pages |
| Published | : | October 17th 2006 by Broadway Books (first published 2006) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Humor. Biography. Audiobook. Biography Memoir |
Description As 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 Appertaining To Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Ratings: 3.94 From 54009 Users | 4582 ReviewsArticle Appertaining To Books The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Bill Bryson was a bit of a juvenile delinquent. This surprised me. His friend Stephen Katz of "A Walk in the Woods" fame was one too, but worse. Which doesn't surprise me. Since I'm only a few years younger than the author I was able to enjoy his description of life in the 1950's. To someone of a much younger age this book might not be so enjoyable. I recommend it to nostaligic Americans who have reached their early "Golden Years".As I look back upon all the memoirs I have read, I realize most are horribly tragic in some way. People surviving genocide, child abuse, and/or rape. One lady lost the majority of her face to cancer. No wonder I'm so depressed! Bryson's autobiography, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air. Nothing tragic. In fact, his childhood is rather idyllic. In no way does that imply that it is boring or lacking in any way. Bryson, a child of the 50's, captures all the excitement of growing up in
I'm a big fan of Bill Bryson's writing, but this one was both uplifting and saddening at the same time. The premise of the book is how Bill learned to see a country be wooed by the siren song of prosperity through the guise of his own internal superhero persona, the Thunderbolt Kid. This is an engaging book which takes the reader back to simpler times, with plenty of Bryson's characteristic laugh-out-loud funny moments to go around. The Thunderbolt Kid persona is really a subtitle to the main
Often laugh-out-loud funny and infinitely nostalgic, this is a charming read (and great gift) for anyone born in the early 1950's. Yes, some of Bryson's observations are already cliches - old people are slow, pre-teen boys are horny - but these are grossly outweighed by his insights into the stupid toys we played with, the terrible candies we ate, the dumb movies we sat through...For a college dropout, Bryson is a remarkably smart guy. He's not only written numerous travel books, both
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
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
Young Bill Bryson always pictured himself as a superhero and in this novel, he is one.The Thunderbolt Kid is a somewhat fictionalized retelling of Bryson's childhood. Interspersing key events (such as the ever-present threat of nuclear war and humorous portrayals of his family) with the heroic efforts of the Thunderbolt Kill. Fun, charming and a bit precocious.Audiobook CommentsRead by Bill Bryson - so cool when an author reads their own book!YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Snapchat
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