The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid

Bill Bryson on his most personal journey yet- into his own childhood in America's Mid-West.From one of our most beloved and bestselling authors, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s.Born in 1951 in the middle of the United States, Des Moines, Iowa, Bill Bryson is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24 carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generation, Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around the house wearing a jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel round his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing evildoers (in his head) as The Thunderbolt Kid.Using his childhood fantasy life as a springboard, Bill Bryson recreates the life of his family in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality. In a period that saw the inexorable rise of television, the opening of Disneyland, the testing of the atomic bomb, and the explosion of choice in everything from food to cars, Bill Bryson's days followed in reassuringly cosy succession, enlivened by modest triumphs and disasters.Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, The Rise and Fall of the Thunderbolt Kid is a modern classic, full of Bill Bryson's inimitable, pitch-perfect observations.

“Seriously funny”

A wittily incisive book about innocence, and its limits, but in no sense an innocent book... Like Alan Bennett, another ironist posing as a sentimentalist, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then deliver a sudden, grizzly-style swipe... might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozen think-tanks -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
A funny, effortlessly readable, quietly enchanted memoir... Bryson also provides a quirky social history of America... he always manages to slam on the brakes with a good joke just when things might get sentimental Daily Mail
Characteristic mixture of bemused wit, acerbic astonishment and sweet benevolence... Evocation of an era is near perfect: tender, hilarious and true The Times
Outlandishly and improbably entertaining... inevitably [I] would be reduced to body-racking, tear-inducing, de-couching laughter The New York Times
The Sunday Times
Hilarious... not your typical travel writer Sunday Telegraph
Funny, wise, learned and compulsive GQ
Not only hilarious but also insightful and informative Independent on Sunday
Always witty and sometimes hilarious... wonderfully funny and touching Literary Review

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body- A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005-2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.

The No. 1 Bestseller 'Is this the most cheerful book I've ever read'...hilarious...a lovely, happy book' Evening Standard 'Tender, hilarious and true' The Times Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, 'I come from Des Moines.Somebody had to.' In this deeply funny new book, he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, in the curious world of 1950s America.It was a happy time, when almost everything was good for you, including DDT, cigarettes and nuclear fallout.This is a book about one boy's growing up.But in Bryson's hands, it becomes everyone's story, one that will speak volumes - especially to anyone who has ever been young. 'Outlandishly and improbably entertaining' New York Times 'Wittily incisive...like Alan Bennett, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then delivera sudden, grizzly-style swipe...might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozen think-tanks' Independent 'His greatest gift is as a humorist, so it is the snickers, the guffaws and the undignified belly laughs he delivers on almost every page that make it worth buying' Sydney Morning Herald

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