Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
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 1950s
Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid."
Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.
Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Relatable and Fun for Any Age
Customer Rating:
I was also born in Des Moines although a few years earlier (1946) so this book was a treasure to me. In fact, I recently reconnected with my childhood best friend who gave me the book when I visited her in Des Moines after losing track of each other for over 20 years. It's been sitting on a shelf for a few months and I just decided to pick it up and read it. It's so funny, like everyone else wrote, I have laughed out loud many times.
Having grown up in Des Moines, I recognize all the places he mentions in the book -- but it could have taken place in almost any American town. For those of us at the "cutting edge" of the baby boom generation it brings back fun and fond memories of a simpler time when a child was allowed to be a child and America was a safe, happy, productive and wonderful country. By reading this, you become aware of how much has changed in this country - and most of it, not for the better.
Since the media, big money and the attendant greed took over our society, this book has made me realize how blessed I was to grow up in the 50's and 60's. I wish every child could have a childhood like Bill Bryson - and I - had with all the freedom, innocence and wonderful times we enjoyed. You can bet my brothers, sisters and many friends will receive this book this year for Christmas. Read it - it's wonderful!
Will make you laugh out loud
Customer Rating:
I listened to this book on cd. It was really funny and entertaining. I think it would be an even better experience if I remembered the 50's.
Yesterday....I too was the Thunderbolt Kid
Customer Rating:
The book itself was wonderful...being from the midwest... I thought it was great. What was a bit over the edge was listening to the author reading his own work. He's from Des Moines also and yet has developed somewhat of an English accent. He may live in England now, but he was born and raised in Des Moines for crying out loud. Sounded like Madonna on a bad day. Still, great stuff.
The Thunderbolt Kid
Customer Rating:
This book is really hilarious and definitely worth a read! It reminded me so much of my little brother in his coonskin cap when he was 6, so I bought it to entertain him while he recovered from heart surgery now that he's an old fart. It's definitely worth a read. It'll bring a smile to the lips of any kid who grew up in the 50s!
Bill Bryson, The All-American Writer
Customer Rating:
This was a great book. It was funny and yet it had some wonderful memories of the 50's. Bill Bryson is a fine writer; I enjoyed another of his books and intend to read everything else he has written. I sent one book to my brother and another to my grandson. This book is fun for all ages.
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