The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid:Travels Through my Childhood by Bill Bryson

Basically this a is memoir of Bryson’s childhood in the 1950s (I guess that’s pretty obvious from the subtitle)  but it’s so much more.  There’s not much of a summary I can do because it’s a memoir but Bryson covers topics like getting a free meal at a local restaurant (probably my favourite part of the book), the threat of nuclear war (which apparently didn’t worry anybody in those days), trying to get into the nudey tent at the state fair and many, many others.

I’m a big fan of Bill Bryson and this book didn’t disappoint me.  It was laugh out loud funny and always entertaining.  I know this review is kind of lame but there’s not much to say without giving away the funny bits and either you like Bryson or you don’t.

I did find a review where one commenter stated that Bryson was a commie and the reviewer agreed.  I’m not sure where that came from but it could have something to do with the fact that it was pretty obvious that Bryson was not a huge fan of McCarthy.