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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
by
Bill Bryson
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 middle of the United States in the middle of the last century. A book that delivers on the promise that it is “laugh-out-loud funny.”
Some say that the first hints that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came from his discovery,...more
Some say that the first hints that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came from his discovery,...more
Hardcover, Large Print, 448 pages
Published
October 17th 2006
by Random House Large Print
(first published January 1st 2006)
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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 id...more
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Book Review
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
By Bill Bryson
Reviewed by Tom Carrico
I am not usually one to enjoy a memoir. There always seems to be a certain smugness that someone must possess to have the audacity to think that their story is better than, well, mine. This memoir, however, is different. Bill Bryson’s childhood ruminations could belong to anybody who grew up in the 1950s. Change Des Moines, Iowa to Arlington, Virginia and this st...more
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
By Bill Bryson
Reviewed by Tom Carrico
I am not usually one to enjoy a memoir. There always seems to be a certain smugness that someone must possess to have the audacity to think that their story is better than, well, mine. This memoir, however, is different. Bill Bryson’s childhood ruminations could belong to anybody who grew up in the 1950s. Change Des Moines, Iowa to Arlington, Virginia and this st...more
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...more
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...more
Reading The Thunderbolt Kid will bring you to tears. Of laughter. The guy in the next row on the airplane will try to vaporize you when your sudden burst of laughter startles him so much his coffee spills in his lap. Or reading in bed trying desperately to stifle your laughter, hoping not to irritate your spouse, will result in the bed shaking like a coin operated bed massage at the Dew Drop Inn in Paradise, Pennsylvania.
The mixture of innocence and insanity of the United States in t...more
The mixture of innocence and insanity of the United States in t...more
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a must read for anyone who grew up in the fifties and sixties. He captures life in the fifties and early sixties through the lens of a pre-teen boy. Though he grew up in one of Iowa's larger cities and I grew up in a small New Mexico town, the experiences are very similiar.
Be ready to laugh out loud, but beware, he uses some language that I would have been given the old "Wash your mouth out with soap" treatment.
Be ready to laugh out loud, but beware, he uses some language that I would have been given the old "Wash your mouth out with soap" treatment.
This is the first book I've read by Bryson and I do intend to read a couple more.
The Thunderbolt Kid is wildly funny, a simple memoir of Bryson's childhood in Des Moines in the 1950s. Oddly enough, change comes slowly to Iowa and I could relate to much of his experience and sentiment having spent my own Iowa childhood in the 1960s.
The Thunderbolt Kid is wildly funny, a simple memoir of Bryson's childhood in Des Moines in the 1950s. Oddly enough, change comes slowly to Iowa and I could relate to much of his experience and sentiment having spent my own Iowa childhood in the 1960s.
Michael Endo
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who like Bill Bryson and/or the 50's
Even 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 b...more
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 b...more
Bill Bryson admits that “this book is a book about not very much: about being small and getting larger slowly.” So, there aren’t any accounts of overcoming tragic circumstances in this memoir. What you will find in The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a laugh-out-loud look at growing up in 1950s Des Moines, Iowa.
Although aimed at baby boomers, anyone can appreciate Bryson’s wise-cracking observations and heart-warming nostalgia over more simple times. The way he interweav...more
Although aimed at baby boomers, anyone can appreciate Bryson’s wise-cracking observations and heart-warming nostalgia over more simple times. The way he interweav...more
To celebrate a weekend that was generally quite un-pleasurable, today I finished 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid', which I had picked up at the airport (I know). It did do nothing much to humour me.
Really, I give Bryson that his father was a very good sports writer, even the short paragraphs of his work that the book features show that (I keep repeating to myself 'the lordly Yankees') , but Bryson himself? 'Laugh-out-loud'? Not that I would have noticed....anyway...in one paragr...more
Really, I give Bryson that his father was a very good sports writer, even the short paragraphs of his work that the book features show that (I keep repeating to myself 'the lordly Yankees') , but Bryson himself? 'Laugh-out-loud'? Not that I would have noticed....anyway...in one paragr...more
Diane
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
a-favorite-read,
audio-books-read
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 ...more
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 ...more
I really enjoyed this book. Not because it was a brilliant piece of writing, but because it did for me what any good book should do: made me feel something.
I felt good. I had a smile on my face. I really long for a simpler life and the picture Bryson painted of his childhood in Iowa had me feeling as if I was there with him and also helped me reminisce about some memories from my childhood I cherish.
Bryson’s writing style is at times all over the place, darting from one ...more
I felt good. I had a smile on my face. I really long for a simpler life and the picture Bryson painted of his childhood in Iowa had me feeling as if I was there with him and also helped me reminisce about some memories from my childhood I cherish.
Bryson’s writing style is at times all over the place, darting from one ...more
I love it. Mr Bill brought out his memory as a kid growing up in Des Moines, a peaceful city in Iowa, on 50's. Beside his own memory I believe he used many archives as his references so he could describe that era and the place so detailed.
50's in America is the age of dream. It's so funny, as Mr Bill said, "Never have people looked so ridiculous and so happy at the same time."
I like Mr Bill's parent. His mom was wonderful, very forgetful but very lovable as well. His dad, h...more
50's in America is the age of dream. It's so funny, as Mr Bill said, "Never have people looked so ridiculous and so happy at the same time."
I like Mr Bill's parent. His mom was wonderful, very forgetful but very lovable as well. His dad, h...more
I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was fun to read about life in the 50's for Bill and make parallels to my own childhood in a small town in the midwest. I laughed out loud many times and nodded my head a bunch of times.
One of my favorite parts is when Bill's mom convinces him to go to school in his sister's pants - lime green capri pants! She told him they were pirate pants. Very funny.
This was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading his other books...more
One of my favorite parts is when Bill's mom convinces him to go to school in his sister's pants - lime green capri pants! She told him they were pirate pants. Very funny.
This was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading his other books...more
Bill Bryson is best suited for travel writing, where his crotchety personality shines through and assures us that the act of traveling is not always as romantic as Kerouac would have you believe-in other words, its ok to go through hell before you start to have a good time. His memoirs are good because he is funny and disparaging and all that Bryson is supposed to be, but the preachiness regarding the decline of small-town middle America is a bit much. You can't quite avoid the feeling that he...more
Bill Bryson is hilarious. This, his latest work and his memoirs of his formative years in Iowa, is just as good as any of his travel writing. I learned a lot about what life must've been like for my parents, who are of his generation and who also grew up in the midwest. I was especially fascinated with Bryson's nostalgic-but-not-too-nostalgic take on the social and cultural trends of the time, and I learned a lot about how cavalier the US was about atomic testing back then. o.O So yeah. Great re...more
Although I've never been a fan of memoirs and autobiographies, a friend suggested I try this one and I'm grateful they did. Billy Bryson's wonderful writing style takes you away from modern day and transports you to the idealic 50's in such a magical way it's haunting. Having not grown up back then but knowing some about it, hearing his memories of growing up back then makes me want so badly to find someway to go and see if for myself. Great writing should make you forget your world and take you...more
thefourthvine
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
biographies-autobiographies-memoirs,
kindle
Bill Bryson is always fun, and his switch from travel memoirs to autobiography isn't really much of a switch at all - this book is a natural for him. But it will never be my favorite of his works.
That said, the book is good. Bryson's work is all about the narrative voice, and he's right at the peak of his ability here; he's honed and developed his voice and his style, but he hasn't reached what we might call the Dave Barry point, the place where a writer's current work becomes a car...more
That said, the book is good. Bryson's work is all about the narrative voice, and he's right at the peak of his ability here; he's honed and developed his voice and his style, but he hasn't reached what we might call the Dave Barry point, the place where a writer's current work becomes a car...more
My father was born in 1948 in Edmonton (although he was loth to admit it), and he spent his childhood in a number of small towns in southern Alberta and British Columbia. I didn't ask him nearly enough about his childhood before he passed away, and I hold on to those few reminiscences of his that I remember as emblematic of a childhood spent raucously and well: putting on cardboard armor and shooting BB guns at his friends; his class spontaneously standing in two long lines in the schoolyard, t...more
Suede
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who has heard the same fact on page 223
I'll admit, this 5 star rating is a bit inflated.
I love Bill Bryson, although some of his books are much stronger than others. Because he's Bryson, he automatically gets a star.
The Thunderbolt Kid is not one of his best works. It's an interesting read about growing up in the 1950, and he tells little tidbits about his life, family and friends. He jumps around a lot in this book. I think he used the Thunderbolt Kid is his way of pulling all his different topics togeth...more
I love Bill Bryson, although some of his books are much stronger than others. Because he's Bryson, he automatically gets a star.
The Thunderbolt Kid is not one of his best works. It's an interesting read about growing up in the 1950, and he tells little tidbits about his life, family and friends. He jumps around a lot in this book. I think he used the Thunderbolt Kid is his way of pulling all his different topics togeth...more
A Nostalgia Look Back to the 1950’s
This is the first Bill Bryson book I have read, but certainly not the last!
Bryson takes a hilarious trip down memory lane. He mixes in his childhood memories of Iowa, historical facts, and adds his own character, The Thunderbolt Kid. It’s a recipe for a fun filled ride with belly laughs and nostalgia.
This is a great book for baby boomers, but I think the younger generations will enjoy it as well. He writes of a less serio...more
This is the first Bill Bryson book I have read, but certainly not the last!
Bryson takes a hilarious trip down memory lane. He mixes in his childhood memories of Iowa, historical facts, and adds his own character, The Thunderbolt Kid. It’s a recipe for a fun filled ride with belly laughs and nostalgia.
This is a great book for baby boomers, but I think the younger generations will enjoy it as well. He writes of a less serio...more
Laura
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves sarcasm and making fun of stupid people
This is pretty funny so far.
I have a slight complaint and question about the audio version though. The author is narrating, and doesn't speak the clearest. And it's odd that he says certain words the British way (like al-yoo-MIN-eeum foil), give that he grew up like Beaver Cleaver (ok, just figured out he spent 20 years in England!). Though there is always something appealing to me about the author narrating. Never a question that someone else is misunderstanding their meaning, w...more
I have a slight complaint and question about the audio version though. The author is narrating, and doesn't speak the clearest. And it's odd that he says certain words the British way (like al-yoo-MIN-eeum foil), give that he grew up like Beaver Cleaver (ok, just figured out he spent 20 years in England!). Though there is always something appealing to me about the author narrating. Never a question that someone else is misunderstanding their meaning, w...more
Interesting and hilarious recollection of Bill Bryson's childhood growing up in Des Moines, IA. It's interesting to see what life was like in Iowa's capital city back in the 50's and 60's, and while the author laments how things have changed in recent decades with the explosion of malls and other attractions in the suburbs at the expense of downtown shopping, it's good to see how Des Moines has encouraged development of the downtown East Village and Court Avenue areas of the city in ways the enc...more
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 sto...more
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 sto...more
I'm about half-way through this book, and I LOVE it! Every time I sit down with it, I laugh out loud at some point. It probably helps that I grew up in the same years/city in which this story takes place, but some of the writing is just so funny. I borrowed this book from Jennifer, but I'm going to have to own it myself. It's a keeper! Finished this book and LOVED it!
I thought this book was lots of fun that captures the magic of childhood. The author grew up in the 50s so it was fun to ask my mom about how her childhood compared, but I also saw parallels to my own childhood. Kids will be kids regardless of the decade. :) Fun, fun read.
For instance -- In one section of the book, Bryson talks about Lincoln Logs. He and his friend experimented with the toys by peeing on them only to discover that this turned the logs white. They made the first...more
For instance -- In one section of the book, Bryson talks about Lincoln Logs. He and his friend experimented with the toys by peeing on them only to discover that this turned the logs white. They made the first...more
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...more
"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 ...more
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 ...more
Oh, what a charming book. Bill Bryson is a seriously funny man. This a memoir as told through the lens of hyperbole, Bryson's favorite medium for both humor and driving his point home. Subtlety is not one of the words one would choose to describe his style.
Bryson grew up in the 50's in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of two journalists. His father was a renowned sports writer and his mother wrote for the Women's section, both on the Des Moines Register. His father was often absent in fact,...more
Bryson grew up in the 50's in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of two journalists. His father was a renowned sports writer and his mother wrote for the Women's section, both on the Des Moines Register. His father was often absent in fact,...more
The dust cover on my edition has a quote from the San Francisco Examiner claiming that "Bryson writes about ... America in a way that's both trenchantly observant and pound-on-the-floor, snort-root-beer-out-of-our-nose funny."
While I may agree about the writing being observant, there was nothing about the content or writing that was really funny. Not when you compare it to, say, a David Sedaris book. The book feels like a collection of essays about America in '50s on vari...more
While I may agree about the writing being observant, there was nothing about the content or writing that was really funny. Not when you compare it to, say, a David Sedaris book. The book feels like a collection of essays about America in '50s on vari...more
Moments of this book were charming, and the factual information about the 1950s that gave context for the coming-of-age narrative, and clearly recreated the mood and zeitgeist of the era were very good--interesting forgotten bits of history. Also, Bryson evoked Des Moines as quintessential America quite well. But as far as memoir, Bryson seems rather stuck in the mentality of a 12-year-old-boy, so unlike other good coming-of-age memoirs, he still seems to think that making fun of the fat or slow...more
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Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and worked in journalism until he became a full time writer. He lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to New Hampshire in America for a few years, but they have now returned to live in the UK.
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