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| Author: Bill Bryson |
| "Suddenly, in the space of
a moment, I realized what it was that
I loved about Britain-which is to say,
all of it." |
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After nearly two decades spent on
British soil, Bryson, bestselling author
of In
a Sunburned Country, 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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Before his return to the U.S. after
a 20-year residence in England, journalist
Bryson (Made in America) embarked on
a farewell tour of his adopted homeland.
His trenchant, witty and detailed observations
of life in a variety of towns and villages
will delight Anglophiles. Traveling
only on public transportation and hiking
whenever possible, Bryson wandered
along the coast through Bournemouth
and neighboring villages that reinforced
his image of Britons as a people who
rarely complain and are delighted by
such small pleasures as a good tea.
In Liverpool, the author's favorite
English city, he visited the Merseyside
Maritime Museum to experience its past
as a great port. Interweaving descriptions
of landscapes and everyday encounters
with shopkeepers, pub customers and
fellow travelers, Bryson shares what
he loves best about the idiosyncrasies
of everyday English life in this immensely
entertaining travel memoir.
© 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. |
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$14.00 (softcover)
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