Book Review: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

The other book I have read recently was The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memior, by Bill Bryson. I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago but didn't want to post about it because I got it as a Christmas gift for someone.

Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. The majority of his books are essentially memiors of his travels throughout most of the English-speaking world (mostly America and England, but also Australia) and a couple books on the English language, although perhaps his best-known (and best - IMHO) book is A Short History of Nearly Everything, a kind of humorous layman's guide to science.

Anyway... half of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is Bryson's recollection of his childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, and the other half appear to be a cobbling of stories and facts about the 1950's. In case you're wondering, the eponymous Thunderbolt Kid was a sort of superhero alter ego Bryson had when he was a kid. I'll try not to spoil to many of the stories, but a lot of them center around the pop culture of the 50's and people's apparent obsession with exposing themselves to dangerous chemicals, radiation, and explosives. I really enjoyed this book, and if you are a fan of Bill Bryson or grew up in the 50's this is a great read.

Rating: * * * 1/2

Now I'm off to read Michael Crichton's Next. It's gotten pretty bad reviews - mostly centered around having too many plot lines and that the book is something of a polemic - but I'm going to give it a shot. I'll let you know.