Maura (maura853) -
Witty and insightful. More of a "dipping in" book than a sustained read: ploughing on with the essays can begin to feel like too much of a good thing.
Full disclosure: Bryson's experience of returning to live in the land of his birth, after over 20 years living in the UK, bears an uncanny resemblance to my own experience, so many of Bryson's observations had a "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" quality.
One curious, unintended effect is as a time-capsule of "How We Lived," just 25 or so years ago. The internet and home computers are novelties. No cell phones. 9/11 hadn't happened yet, and the worst inconvenience in flying is a layover in Pittsburgh. A whole essay is devoted to the difficulties of getting change for a payphone ...
Full disclosure: Bryson's experience of returning to live in the land of his birth, after over 20 years living in the UK, bears an uncanny resemblance to my own experience, so many of Bryson's observations had a "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" quality.
One curious, unintended effect is as a time-capsule of "How We Lived," just 25 or so years ago. The internet and home computers are novelties. No cell phones. 9/11 hadn't happened yet, and the worst inconvenience in flying is a layover in Pittsburgh. A whole essay is devoted to the difficulties of getting change for a payphone ...
