The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
Bill Bryson, , read by the author. . Random House Audio, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7393-1523-1
For most of his adult life, Bryson has made his home in the U.K, yet he actually entered the world in 1951 as part of America's postwar baby boom and spent his formative years in Des Moines, Iowa. Bryson wistfully recounts a childhood of innocence and optimism, a magical point in time when a distinct sense of regional and community identity briefly—but blissfully—coexisted with fledgling technology and modern convenience. Narrating, Bryson skillfully wields his amorphous accent—somehow neither fully British nor Midwestern—to project a genial and entertaining tour guide of lost Americana. In portraying the boyish exploits of his "Thunderbolt Kid" superhero alter ego, he convincingly evokes both the unadulterated joys and everyday battles of childhood. As an added bonus, the final CD features an interview with Bryson in which he reflects on the process of writing his autobiography and discussing the broader social and cultural insights that he gleaned from the experience.
Reviewed on: 12/04/2006
Genre: Audio
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-7393-1522-4
Downloadable Audio - 978-0-7393-4659-4
Hardcover - 288 pages - 978-0-7679-1936-4
Hardcover - 288 pages - 978-0-385-66161-4
Hardcover - 426 pages - 978-0-375-43430-3
Hardcover - 978-0-552-15364-5
Hardcover - 978-0-552-15365-2
Hardcover - 309 pages - 978-0-385-60826-8
Other - 978-0-307-37362-5
Paperback - 288 pages - 978-0-7679-1937-1
Paperback - 288 pages - 978-0-385-66162-1
