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Notes from a Small Island | 
| Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  276 reviews
Sales Rank: 24688
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 282
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0380727501
Dewey Decimal Number: 942.082
EAN: 9780380727506
ASIN: 0380727501
Publication Date: May 1, 1997
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Condition: Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.
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Amazon.com Review
Reacting to an itch common to Midwesterners since there's been a Midwest from which to escape, writer Bill Bryson moved from Iowa to Britain in 1973. Working for such places as Times of London, among others, he has lived quite happily there ever since. Now Bryson has decided his native country needs him--but first, he's going on a roundabout jaunt on the island he loves. Britain fascinates Americans: it's familiar, yet alien; the same in some ways, yet so different. Bryson does an excellent job of showing his adopted home to a Yank audience, but you never get the feeling that Bryson is too much of an outsider to know the true nature of the country. Notes from a Small Island strikes a nice balance: the writing is American-silly with a British range of vocabulary. Bryson's marvelous ear is also in evidence: "... I noted the names of the little villages we passed through--Pinhead, West Stuttering, Bakelite, Ham Hocks, Sheepshanks ..." If you're an Anglophile, you'll devour Notes from a Small Island.
Product Description
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestsellingauthor of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to returnto the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out ona grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile. "Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestselling author of ,i>The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 271 more reviews...
 Bless Bill Bryson September 30, 2008
If there is anyone out there who has never read Bill Bryson I urge you to start. His books will warm your heart and make you laugh out loud....you can't stay blue or depressed when you're engrossed in one of his works. In spite of his penchant for being an Anglophile (no doubt because he's married to an Englishwoman), you realize, after reading between the lines, he's an all-American kid.
What's so delightful about him is that he not only entertains but educates as well.
Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! Bill. There is no one like you. I have one complaint and that is there aren't any new 'travelogues' on the horizon. Come on, Bill. You're not that old!.
 Amusing but somewhat repetitive September 20, 2008
Bryson has a keen eye for the amusing and unusual details of British life and culture and he writes some very witty and memorable lines. I enjoyed much of this but at times it seemed he was stretching his idea a bit and the book became repetitive.
This could have been a funny magazine article if edited down to the best bits but there's really not enough here to rate this more than 3 stars.
 Couldn't finish this one.... July 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've read five of Bryson's books so far, but this one has put the nail in the coffin for me-there will be no more Bryson books for a while. I'm about half way through it but am finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate Bryson's mean-spirited remarks about people he's never met. Bryson's comment that an overweight teenager was a, "greedy, fat, pig" wasn't funny at all. It was just mean, plain and simple...and this coming from an author who needs to take a look at himself in the mirror. In the last Bryson book I read, his wife comments that all he does is, "b**ch, b**ch, b**ch. I agree with her. I find this book to be repeatedly filled with whining, and mean-spirited comments about people Bryson has never met and places he doesn't spend enough time in to know anything about. If you want to read good Bryson books try, "A Walk in The Woods" or "A Short History of Nearly Everything". This one will will be going out, half-finished, with our summer tag sale items.
notes about small complaints... June 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bill Bryson travels his adopted homeland of Great Britain and his observations about the people and places take the spotlight in this travel diary.
This is classic Bryson. Lots of acute observations, some dry humor along the way, and many adventures. While I enjoy Bryson, his writing is not for people who have not been to the place he is talking about. I enjoyed his other book "Neither Here, nor There" much more as I had been to Europe and the places he had been to in that book and therefore found his observations much more amusing than in this book.
I actually put this book down. It was entertaining for sure, but I just got sick of hearing about England after awhile. I will of course read Bryson again, but this one was just not a fave.
three Stars.
I wet myself reading this one March 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ok, may that was a little lie, but "Notes from a Small Island" was that good. I laughed out loud so many times I cried. He hits the countries mannerisms spot on. Having lived in the UK for many years I enjoyed all of his rants and raves. Sure, some of them may have been a little preachy or exagerated, but the point was to show the differences and he came through with flying colors (or should I say colours). His witty observations remind me of things we all think but never remember to put to pen. Instead, he sees it and writes about it and then delivers it in a poignant, yet loving way.
Most Brits that I know love his works and this book is no exception. In fact, a Brit recommended him to me as an example of a great writer writing about the UK.
Good for you Bill.
Sam Hendricks, author of "Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football" and "Fantasy Football Almanac". Coming in May 2008-"Fantasy Football Almanac 2008"
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