Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
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 funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his all-American childhood for 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 wearing a jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck, vanquishing evildoers--in his head--as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using his fantasy-life persona as a springboard, Bryson re-creates the life of his family in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality--a life at once familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy.--From publisher description.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
01
Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: Travels Through My Childhood
2016, Transworld Publishers Limited
in English
1784161810 9781784161811
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
02
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
2010, Transworld
E-book
in English
1409095797 9781409095798
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
03
Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
2010, Penguin Random House
in English
1409095800 9781409095804
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
04
Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: Travels Through My Childhood
2007-01-01, Black Swan
0552772542 9780552772549
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
05
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
September 25, 2007, Anchor Canada
in English
0385661622 9780385661621
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
06
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
2006, Broadway Books
Electronic resource
in English
0767926315 9780767926317
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
07
The life and times of the thunderbolt kid: a memoir
2006, Random House
in English
- 1st large print ed.
0375434305 9780375434303
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
08
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
2006, Broadway Books
Hardcover
in English
076791936X 9780767919364
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
09 |
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
10
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid on Playaway: Ready-To-Go Digital Audiobooks
October 17, 2006, Findaway World
Digital Audiobook
in English
1598953907 9781598953909
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
11
Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid - Memoir
Mar 20, 2006, Doubleday
hardcover
0385608268 9780385608268
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
12
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir (Random House Large Print (Hardcover))
October 17, 2006, Random House Large Print
in English
073947491X 9780739474914
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
13
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
October 17, 2006, Random House Audio
Audio CD
in English
- Unabridged edition
0739315234 9780739315231
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
14
The life and times of the thunderbolt kid: a memoir
2006, Broadway Books
in English
0739482939 9780739482933
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
15
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
October 2006, Random House Audio
Audio cassette
in English
0739315226 9780739315224
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
16
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
2006, Broadway Books
Paperback
in English
- Reprint edition
0767919378 9780767919371
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
17
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
October 17, 2006, Doubleday Canada
in English
0385661614 9780385661614
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-270).
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Work Description
Bill Bryson on his most personal journey yet: into his own childhood in America's Mid-West.Some say that the first hint that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came when his mother sent him to school in lime-green Capri pants. Others think it all started with his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman.Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, 'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.' In his deeply funny new memoir, he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, and the curious world of 1950s America. It was a happy time, when almost everything was good for you, including DDT, cigarettes and nuclear fallout. This is a book about growing up in a specific time and place. But in Bryson's hands, it becomes everyone's story, one that will speak volumes – especially to anyone who has ever been young.
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created June 24, 2017
- 6 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
December 10, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
April 19, 2022 | Edited by Lisa | Merge works |
April 17, 2022 | Edited by Lisa | //covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12722660-S.jpg |
April 17, 2022 | Edited by Lisa | Update covers |
June 24, 2017 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Internet Archive item record |