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Original Title:	The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
ISBN:	076791936X (ISBN13: 9780767919364)
Edition Language:	English
Setting:	United States of America

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid Hardcover | Pages: 288 pages

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Title	:	The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Author	:	Bill Bryson
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 288 pages
Published	:	October 17th 2006 by Broadway Books (first published 2006)
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Humor. Biography. Audiobook. Biography Memoir

Chronicle In Pursuance Of 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 1950s Bill 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.

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Ratings: 3.94 From 54009 Users | 4582 Reviews

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Like every other Bill Bryson book I've read, this one is utterly delightful, hilarious, endearing and charming. I'm sure my husband grew tired of hearing me laugh out loud when I would stay up late reading, but I couldn't help it -- Bryson's stories are too funny to hold in the giggles.There's also a good bit of U.S. history in the book to ground the chapters, but Bryson even manages to make the Cuban missile crisis and the threat of nuclear annihilation seem humorous.This book would make a

An interesting and quirky snapshot of Des Moines in the 1950s told from the perspective of a young, would-be superhero. Typically Bryson with some seriously laugh out loud moments (the tv clothing range in particular got me). This was a quick, fun read.

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

My son has been raving about Bill Bryson's for some time now, but I was not sure that they would appeal to me. After hearing others rave about his memoir: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, I thought this might be a fun audio book. I am sorry I waited so long to try Bryson's work.This memoir was terrific. It leaves you with a feeling of appreciation for the simple things in life. Bill Bryson and I were born a year apart, and as baby boomers growing up in the 50's and 60's, I found this

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!

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

There are definitely laugh out loud portions of this book, particularly the sections on elementary school and cinema matinees.Bryson captures with feeling the atmosphere of the 50s. There were a lot of kids in the 50s and early sixties. Stores and downtowns were different. There is a kind of Peanuts quality to this era. There was a security blanket which is now lost.Bryson does extend the truth and it is difficult at times to know how stretched out the exaggerations are kids building bombs in