Notes from a Big Country - Bill Bryson

I bought this book due to the reviews that I have read and family recommendations. I thought that the book was going to be good as Bryson has a Worldwide reputation for being the best travel writer. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this book as it was my first Bryson book that I read. My first impressions of Bryosn after the first few chapters were that he is your average guy and a light hearted, relaxed writer. I was impressed in how much detail that he got into his concise subjects and how incedibly funny he was in his subtle mocking of American people and their values. The stand out chapters of this book are where he went to the supermarket ...  Read the complete review

After spending nearly two decades in England, Bill Bryson and his family decided to settle in America, the country he was born and raised in. Although he once lived there, Bryson's mission in this book is to re-discover what it is like living in America, which given Bryson's ability to find himself out of his depth wherever he is, should make for an entertaining read... 'Notes From a Big Country' is not really a travel book (as such), but more a collection of 78 short stories or accounts about life in America - mainly dealing with Bryson's experiences since returning to his home-land, and the American way of life. These stories include ...  Read the complete review

---Intro--- I've read several of Bill Bryson's books and thoroughly enjoyed them, so when "Notes from a Big Country" came up on BookMooch I was looking forward to reading it without having to pay for it (I know the library is another option, but I like to keep books written by my favourite authors - and Bryson is certainly in my top 20). Rather than being a book as such, it is a collection of 78 short articles which Bill Bryson wrote for a column (which he was coerced into writing for!) in the Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine during 1997-1998. Therefore as you'll see it is very much written for a British ...  Read the complete review

Even though i own nearly all of Bill Bryson's books, i have to say that 'Notes from a Big country' would be one of my favourites, along with 'Notes from a Small Island'. All of Bryson's books are worth reading, but i found 'Notes from a Big country' particularly enjoyable. The 'big country' of the title refers to America; Bill Bryson was asked to write a regular column about life in America for a British newspaper, and the results are contained in this book. Many aspects of life are covered - Food in America, holidays, Drug culture, gun culture in America, shopping, sport - with plenty of Bill Bryson's usual humour and ...  Read the complete review

If you've never encountered Bill Bryson's work before then you're in for a treat. 'Notes from a Big Country' is essentially what I'd consider a condensed summary of his best features - writing wise that is. The short introduction indicates that sometime in summer 1996, Bryson was persuaded to write a weekly column about America for the Mail on Sunday's 'Night and Day' magazine to be called 'Notes from a Big Country'. This book features 78 columns from the first 18 months. Fans of Bryson will need no urging to dive straight on in. For the uninitiated, about all you need to enjoy this book is a good sense of humour and ...  Read the complete review