The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

A Memoir

by Bill Bryson

288 pages

English language

Published Oct. 17, 2006 by Doubleday Canada.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-66161-4
OCLC Number:: 76902198

(27 reviews)

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a 2006 memoir by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The book delves into Bryson's past, telling of his youth growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1950s and early 1960s. It also reveals the backstory between himself and Stephen Katz, who appeared in A Walk in the Woods and "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe." Bryson also describes and comments on American life in the 1950s. The title of the book comes from an imaginary alter-ego Bryson invented for himself in his childhood, who has the ability to vaporise people.The book was released on September 1, 2006, in the United Kingdom, where it was published by Doubleday. In the United States and Canada, the book was launched on October 17, 2006, and was published by Broadway Books and Doubleday Canada respectively.

11 editions

allanderek reviewed The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Classic Bill Bryson

4 stars

A lot of Bill Bryson book reviews, at least by me, are kind of similar. Basically, you know what you're getting with Bill Bryson, his writing is very good, he will almost certainly make you laugh, and you probably learn a bit of trivia at the same time. I wouldn't say this book particularly stands out as one of his best, but it's at least average. So the advice is, as usual, if you've read more than 1 Bill Bryson book you will know what you're going to get, if you like them, read this, if you don't this isn't any different so give this a pass. And as always, if you haven't read any Bill Bryson books, this is a reasonable place to start, though probably not the best. For that, I would like at a list of Bryson books and see which topic takes your fancy the most, …

WorzelFG reviewed The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Review of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'd read anything by Bill Bryson, he makes me laugh without fail. Even if he wrote out his shopping list I'm sure he'd make it funny, unfortunately this is more or less what he falls back on a bit too often.
The unique circumstances of a fifties american childhood are captured with an alien anthropologist's eye but the lists of products or TV shows I could have done without.

Ookla_the_Mok reviewed The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Review of 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Got this book for Christmas and devoured it in about 3 days. I actually haven't laughed this hard at a book in a long time and, although I'm considerably younger than the author, a lot of things in here really hit home for me in a nostalgic sense.

It may have a little more impact for males, but this book is absolutely fantastic!