What we have here is a collection of articles, written for an English magazine from back in the U.S. Here, Bryson keeps the readers updated about his struggles to readjust in his old home. Sometimes witty, sometimes a little too strained, he still manages to entertain and have the odd profound insight at the same time. His weakest side, strangely, is his humour: the articles that wholly rely on their quirkiness are the least interesting, and the punch-line of each article is reliably rushed and sloppy.

Overall, though, this is a thoughtful and funny book that is recommended at least to people from England and the USA – to broaden their horizon. In fact, the only people who shouldn't read it are those who just want to verify their prejudices about either country.