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, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college ...
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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, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman. Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to. In this hilarious new memoir, he travels back to explore the kid he once was and the weird and wonderful world of 1950s America. He modestly claims that this is a book about not very much: about being small and getting much larger slowly. But for the rest of us, it is a laugh-out-loud book that will speak volumes - especially to anyone who has ever been young.
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Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $2.28, good condition, Sold by Central Valley Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fresno, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print Publishing.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $2.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print Publishing.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $2.29, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
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Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $10.00, very good condition, Sold by Last Word Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Olympia, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 6x1x9; Hardcover. Large print edition. Light shelf wear to boards and dust jacket. Binding square and tight. No highlighting, notation, or remainder marks. Thank you for supporting Last Word Books and independent bookstores.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $19.99, like new condition, Sold by Arbor-Scout rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ann Arbor, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print Publishing.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $37.87, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $76.65, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
Add this copy of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir to cart. $78.34, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House Large Print.
Book was like new in excellent condition. Arrived very quick. Excellent service.
TNBOOKLOVER
Jan 28, 2016
One of Bryson's best
Highly entertaining and very funny. Makes me want to visit Des Moines. I wanted a hard copy of Thunderbolt Kid because I know I'll be reading it again.
althemadpoet
Dec 3, 2009
I love this guy's writing - have 6 of his books now - I grew up in the 50s traveling all over the world, but still experienced some of the things he did - very good and funny read
childofthe50s
Mar 26, 2009
Laugh till you cry
I'm listening to this book on cd in my car. Some parts are so funny I find myself laughing until tears run down my face. The story about Grandma and the licorice babies is howlingly funny as is most of the book.
Discover Bill Bryson and you'll soon have an entire library of his works, which are entertaining, informative and hysterically, laugh-till-you-cry funny.
JeffwithaJ
Oct 21, 2008
A rollicking read!
David Sedaris cracks me up. Carl Hiaasen?s Floridian farces are each an entertaining hoot. And Bill Bryson is a surefire spirits-lifter, whether he?s summarizing the secrets of the universe in A Short History of Nearly Everything or expanding his own galaxy of personal anecdotes in The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir. And did my spirits ever need lifting? I?d just finished the beautiful but bleak The Road, so I welcomed the promise of a bit of mirth. And Bryson?s Thunderbolt Kid delivered more laughter and enjoyment than any mere mortal should be capable of.
Perhaps Bryson is superhuman. That?s the premise of Thunderbolt Kid, in which the author details growing up in Middle America in the 1950s?a seemingly idyllic place and halcyon time. However, while Bryson?s childhood era was practically perfect in every way, it wasn?t all comic-book thrills and post-war prosperity. Surrounded by threats ranging from an increasingly chilly Cold War and ever-expanding culinary uses for Jell-O, young Billy Bryson discovered his own superhero powers and ?Thunderbolt Kid? identity after finding a mysterious, lightning-emblazoned jersey in his family?s basement.
This ?Thunderbolt Kid? schtick could be kryptonite to a truly super childhood memoir, resulting in overwrought symbolism, saccharin sentimentality, and just-plain-annoying plotting. But Bryson makes it work, largely because he doesn?t play the superhero-kid card very often. Instead, he builds the story of his childhood around his distinctive wit and wry humor, presenting scene after entertaining scene of his life as an Iowa boy, with only occasional flashes of the Thunderbolt Kid character. This restraint gives Thunderbolt Kid a distinctive energy without overwhelming readers with gimmick. And the result is the most hilarious and winning memoir since David Sedaris?s Me Talk Pretty One Day.
