Notes From A Big Country

Bill Bryson has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. This became all too apparent when, after nearly two decades in England, the worlds best-loved travel writer upped sticks with Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al. and returned to live in the country he had left as a youth.

Of course there were things Bryson missed about Blighty but any sense of loss was countered by the joy of rediscovering some of the forgotten tresures of his childhood: the glories of a New England autum; the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts; and motel rooms where you can generally count on being awakened in the night by a piercing shriek and the sound of a female voice pleading 'Put the gun down, Vinnie, I'll do anything you say.'

Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the exoticism of having your groceries bagged for you, the jaw-slckening direness of American TV or the smug pleasure of being able to eat your beef without having to wonderif when you rise from the table you will walk sideways into a wall, Bill Bryson brings his inmitable brand of bemused wit to bear on that strangest of phenomena - The American way of life.