When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a girl called Bobbie and get a job in the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever or you spend your adolescence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can't wait to get out and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbie and get a job in the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever.
My father liked Iowa. He lived his whole life in the state, and is even now working his way through eternity there, in Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines.
I had to calm down because a state trooper pulled up alongside me at a traffic light and began looking at me with that sort of casual disdain you often get when you give a dangerously stupid person a gun and a squad car.
I assume he was descended from apes like all the rest of us, but clearly in his case it had been a fairly gentle slope.
I watched a rerun on television of a 1960s comedy programme called "Mr Ed", which was about a talking horse. Judging by the quality of the jokes, I would guess that Mr Ed wrote his own material.
Just down the road stood a little town, which I shall call Dullard lest the people recognize themselves and take me to court or come to my house and batter me with baseball bats.
A sign in the yard of a church next door said CHRIST IS THE ANSWER. (The question, of course, is: What do you say when you strike your thumb with a hammer?)
I mused for a few moments on the question of which was worse, to lead a life so boring that you are easily enchanted or a life so full of stimulus that you are easily bored. But then it occurred to me that musing is a pointless waste of anyone's time, and instead I went off to see if I could find a Baby Ruth candy bar, a far more profitable exercise.
For forty years or so this was the world headquarters of conspicuous consumption.
about Newport, Rhode Island (RI)
Much of the tablecloth was a series of grey smudges outlined in a large, irregular patch of yellow that looked distressingly like a urine stain.
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson,
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995. In 2003 Bryson moved back to Britain, living in the old rectory of
WramplinghamWramplingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the River Tiffey some north of Wymondham and west of Norwich....
, Norfolk, and was appointed Chancellor of
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
.
Early life
Bill Bryson was born in
Des Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, the son of William and Mary Bryson. (In 2006 Bryson published
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt KidThe Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a 2006 memoir by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The book delves into Bryson's past and telling of his youth growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1950s and early 1960s...
, a humorous account of his childhood years in Des Moines.) He has an older brother,
MichaelMichael G. Bryson is a former news and sports reporter and editor from Des Moines, Iowa and the elder brother of travel writer Bill Bryson. He co-published a book The Babe Didn't Point: And Other Stories About Iowans and Sports with his son Michael G. Bryson Jr in 1989. He also published a book...
and a sister, Mary Jane Elizabeth.
Bryson attended
Drake UniversityDrake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
for two years before dropping out in 1972, deciding to instead backpack around Europe for four months. He returned to Europe the following year with a high school friend, the pseudonymous Stephen Katz. Some of his experiences from this trip are relived as flashbacks in
Neither Here Nor There: Travels in EuropeNeither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe is a 1991 humorous travelogue by American writer Bill Bryson. It documents the author's tour of Europe in 1990, with many flash-backs to two summer tours he made in 1972 and 1973 in his college days...
, which documents a similar journey Bryson made twenty years later.
Move to United Kingdom
Bryson first visited Britain in 1973 during a tour of Europe and decided to stay after landing a job working in a psychiatric hospital – the now defunct
Holloway SanatoriumHolloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of the insane, located on of parkland near the town of Virginia Water, Surrey, within the boundary of the Greater London Urban Area, about south-west of Charing Cross....
in
Virginia WaterVirginia Water is an affluent village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, England....
,
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He met a nurse there named Cynthia, whom he married and they moved to the USA in 1975 so Bryson could complete his college degree. In 1977, they settled in Britain, where they remained until 1995. Eventually living in
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
and mainly working as a
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, Bryson became chief copy editor of the business section of
The TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and then deputy national news editor of the business section of
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. He left journalism in 1987, three years after the birth of his third child. Living in
Kirkby MalhamKirkby Malham is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Situated in the Yorkshire Dales it lies five miles east of Settle. Nearby settlements include Hanlith, Malham, Airton and Calton....
, North Yorkshire, Bryson started writing independently and in 1990 their fourth child, Sam, was born.
Although able to apply for British citizenship, Bryson has declined a citizenship test, declaring himself "too cowardly" to take it.
Writings
In 1995, Bryson returned to the United States to live in
Hanover, New HampshireHanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, for some years, the stories of which feature in his book
I'm A Stranger Here Myself, alternatively titled
Notes from a Big Country in Britain, Canada and Australia. During his time in the United States, Bryson decided to walk the
Appalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
with his friend Stephen Katz (a pseudonym), about which he wrote the book
A Walk in the Woods. In 2003 the Brysons and their four children returned to Britain and now live in Norfolk.
Also in 2003, in conjunction with
World Book DayWorld Book and Copyright Day is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright...
, British voters chose Bryson's book
Notes from a Small IslandNotes from a Small Island is a humorous travel book on Great Britain by American author Bill Bryson, first published in 1995.-Overview:Bryson wrote Notes from a Small Island when he decided to move back to his native United States, but wanted to take one final trip around Great Britain, which had...
as that which best sums up British identity and the state of the nation. In the same year, he was appointed a Commissioner for
English HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
In 2004, Bryson won the prestigious
Aventis PrizeThe Royal Society Prizes for Science Books is an annual award for the previous year's best general science writing and best science writing for children. The nominees and winners are decided by the Royal Society, the UK national academy of science...
for best general science book with
A Short History of Nearly EverythingA Short History of Nearly Everything is a popular science book by American author Bill Bryson that explains some areas of science, using a style of language which aims to be more accessible to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject...
. This 500-page popular literature piece explores not only the histories and current statuses of the sciences, but also reveals their humble and often humorous beginnings. Although one "top scientist" is alleged to have jokingly described the book as "annoyingly free of mistakes", Bryson himself makes no such claim and a list of some
reported errors in the book is available online, identifying the chapter in which each appears but with no page or line references. In 2005, the book won the EU
Descartes PrizeThe Descartes Prize is an annual award in science given by the European Union, named in honour of the French mathematician and philosopher, René Descartes....
for science communication.
Bryson has also written two popular works on the history of the English language —
Mother TongueThe Mother Tongue is a book by Bill Bryson which compiles the history and origins of the English language and the language's various quirks. It is subtitled English And How It Got That Way...
and
Made in AmericaMade In America is a nonfiction book by Bill Bryson describing the history of the English language in the United States and the evolution of American culture....
— and, more recently, an update of his guide to usage,
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome WordsBryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words is a book by Bill Bryson, first released 1984, that catalogues some of the English language's most commonly misused words and phrases in order to demonstrate correct usage....
(published in its first edition as
The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words in 1983). These books were popularly acclaimed and well-reviewed, though they received some criticism claiming that they contained factual errors, urban myths and folk etymologies.
Honours
In 2005, Bryson was appointed
ChancellorA chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, succeeding the late
Sir Peter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
and has been particularly active with student activities, even appearing in a Durham student film (the sequel to
The Assassinator) and promoting litter picks in the city. He had praised Durham as "a perfect little city" in
Notes from a Small Island. He has also been awarded honorary degrees by numerous universities, including
Bournemouth UniversityBournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
and in April 2002 the
Open UniversityThe Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
.
In 2005, Bryson received the President's Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry for advancing the cause of the chemical sciences. In the same year, Bryson and the RSC jointly created the Bill Bryson prize, an annual award to encourage science writing in schools.
In 2006,
Frank CownieThomas Michael Franklin "Frank" Cownie is the current mayor of Des Moines, Iowa in the United States.He owns and operates a Cownie Furs, a store that has been in his family for generations....
, the
mayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Des Moines, awarded Bryson the
key to the cityFreedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
and announced that 21 October 2006 would be known as "Bill Bryson, The Thunderbolt Kid, Day."
In November 2006, Bryson interviewed the then British Prime Minister
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
on the state of science and education.
On 13 December 2006, Bryson was awarded an honorary
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his contribution to literature. The following year, he was awarded the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin.
In the year of 2007, Bryson won the
Golden Eagle AwardThe Golden Eagle Award is an accolade by the Russian National Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of Russia to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, directors, actors, and writers...
.
In January 2007, Bryson was the Schwartz Visiting Fellow of the
Pomfret SchoolPomfret School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States for grades 9 through 12 plus a post-graduate year. Pomfret School was founded in 1894, on the principles of intellectual rigor and the development of character...
in
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
In May 2007, he became the President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. His first area of focus in this role was the establishment of an anti-littering campaign across England. He discussed the future of the countryside with
Richard MabeyRichard Mabey is a naturalist and author.He has been called by The Times 'Britain's greatest living nature writer'. Among his acclaimed publications are Food for Free, The Unofficial Countryside and The Common Ground, as well as his study of the nightingale, Whistling in the Dark...
,
Sue CliffordSue Clifford co-founded Common Ground, an organisation which campaigns to link nature with culture and the positive investment people can make in their own localities, with Angela King in 1983....
,
Nicholas CraneNicholas Crane is an English geographer, explorer, writer and broadcaster. Since 2004, he has written and presented four notable television series for BBC Two: Coast, Great British Journeys, Map Man and Town....
and
Richard GirlingRichard Girling is a feature writer for The Sunday Times Magazine. Girling was named Specialist Writer of the Year at the 2002 UK Press Awards. He has been a consultant to the former Department of the Environment and Department for Culture Media and Sport...
at CPRE's Volunteer Conference in November 2007.
In October 2010, it was announced that Bryson would be stepping down from the role of
ChancellorA chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
at
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
at the end of 2011.
Travel
- The Palace under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries (1985)
- The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America is a book by travel writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his 13,978 mile trip around the United States in the autumn of 1987 and spring 1988....
(1989)
- Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe is a 1991 humorous travelogue by American writer Bill Bryson. It documents the author's tour of Europe in 1990, with many flash-backs to two summer tours he made in 1972 and 1973 in his college days...
(1991)
- Notes from a Small Island
Notes from a Small Island is a humorous travel book on Great Britain by American author Bill Bryson, first published in 1995.-Overview:Bryson wrote Notes from a Small Island when he decided to move back to his native United States, but wanted to take one final trip around Great Britain, which had...
(1995). (Adapted for television by Carlton TelevisionCarlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
in 1998)
- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a 1998 book by travel writer Bill Bryson, describing his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend "Stephen Katz"...
(1998) (Featuring Stephen Katz)
- Notes from a Big Country
Notes from a Big Country, or as it was released in the United States, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, is a collection of articles written by Bill Bryson for The Mail on Sundays Night and Day supplement during the 1990s, published together first in Britain in 1998 and in paperback in 1999...
(UK) / I'm a Stranger Here Myself (U.S.) (1999)
- Down Under
Down Under is a 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. In the United States and Canada it was published entitled In a Sunburned Country, a title taken from the famous Australian poem, "My Country"...
(UK) / In a Sunburned CountryDown Under is a 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. In the United States and Canada it was published entitled In a Sunburned Country, a title taken from the famous Australian poem, "My Country"...
(U.S.) (2000)
- Bill Bryson's African Diary
Bill Bryson's African Diary is a 2002 book by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The book details a trip Bryson took to Kenya in 2002. Bryson describes his experiences there and observations about Kenyan culture, geography, and politics, as well as his visits to poverty-fighting projects run...
(2002) (travels in AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
for CARE International)
- Walk About (2002) (Combined in one volume are Down Under and A Walk in the Woods)
Language
- The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words is a book by Bill Bryson, first released 1984, that catalogues some of the English language's most commonly misused words and phrases in order to demonstrate correct usage....
(1984)
- Made in America
Made In America is a nonfiction book by Bill Bryson describing the history of the English language in the United States and the evolution of American culture....
(UK) / Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United StatesMade In America is a nonfiction book by Bill Bryson describing the history of the English language in the United States and the evolution of American culture....
(U.S.) (1994)
- The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
The Mother Tongue is a book by Bill Bryson which compiles the history and origins of the English language and the language's various quirks. It is subtitled English And How It Got That Way...
(U.S.) / Mother Tongue: The English Language (UK) (1990) (Adapted for Journeys in English (2004) BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
)
- Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words is a book by Bill Bryson, first released 1984, that catalogues some of the English language's most commonly misused words and phrases in order to demonstrate correct usage....
(2002)
- Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors (2008)
Science
- A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything is a popular science book by American author Bill Bryson that explains some areas of science, using a style of language which aims to be more accessible to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject...
(2003)
- A Really Short History of Nearly Everything (2008) (Children's version of 2003 book)
- On the Shoulders of Giants (editor, 2009)
- Seeing Further: The Story of Science, Discovery and the Genius of the Royal Society (editor, 2010)
History
- At Home: A Short History of Private Life
At Home: A Short History of Private Life is a history of domestic life written by Bill Bryson. It was published in May 2010. The book covers topics of the commerce, architecture, technology and geography that have shaped homes into what they are today, told through a series of "tours" through...
(2010) Doubleday. ISBN 9780385608275
External links
- Bill Bryson at Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
- Profile at Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
- Works at Open Library
Open Library is an online project intended to create “one web page for every book ever published”. Open Library is a project of the non-profit Internet Archive and has been funded in part by a grant from the California State Library and the Kahle/Austin Foundation.-Books for the blind and...
- Article archive at Journalisted
- Bill Bryson - A short history of nearly everything presentation at the Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
- A brief excerpt from The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid(archived from the original on 2007-10-05)
- The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid Reviews at Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
(archived from the original on 2008-04-30)
- BBC Wear - Bill Bryson loves Durham
- Interview with Bill Bryson about organ donation
- BBC Radio Five Live interview with Bill Bryson about the British countryside
- CPRE interview on the proposed South Downs National Park (archived from the original on
- Interview with Bill Bryson about his career in travel writing.
- At Home: A History of Private Life by Bill Bryson: A review, James Walton, The Telegraph, 19 June 2010
- Bill Bryson interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 14 October 2010.