Notes from a Big Country

Resumen del libro

Bill Bryson has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. This became all too apparent when, after nearly two decades in England, the world's best-loved travel writer upped sticks with Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al. and returned to live in the country he had left as a youth.


Of course there were things Bryson missed about Blighty but any sense of loss was countered by the joy of rediscovering some of the forgotten treasures of his childhood: the glories of a New England autumn; the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts; and motel rooms where you can generally count on being awakened in the night by a piercing shriek and the sound of a female voice pleading, 'Put the gun down, Vinnie, I'll do anything you say.'


Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the exoticism of having you groceries bagged for you, the jaw-slackening direness of American TV or the smug pleasure of being able to eat your beef without having to wonder if when you rise from the table you will walk sideways into the wall, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life.

Biografía del autor

x{0026}lt;p BILL BRYSON (Des Moines, Iowa, en 1951). Inició la carrera de Periodismo en Estados Unidos, pero la interrumpió para viajar por Europa. En 1977 se instaló en North Yorkshire, Inglaterra, donde residió dos décadas y trabajó en periódicos como x{0026}lt;i The Timesx{0026}lt;/i o x{0026}lt;i The Independentx{0026}lt;/i . Aunque también se ha dedicado a la enseñanza (llegó a ser rector de la Universidad de Durham), actualmente se dedica sobre todo a escribir. Además de x{0026}lt;i El cuerpo humanox{0026}lt;/i es autor de, entre otros libros superventas, x{0026}lt;i Una breve historia de casi todox{0026}lt;/i (Premio Aventis de libros de ciencia y finalista del Premio Samuel Johnson); x{0026}lt;i Un paseo por el bosquex{0026}lt;/i , x{0026}lt;i En casa: una breve historia de la vida privadax{0026}lt;/i ; x{0026}lt;i En las antípodasx{0026}lt;/i ; x{0026}lt;i Aventuras y desventuras del Chico Centellax{0026}lt;/i ; x{0026}lt;i 1927: un verano que cambió el mundox{0026}lt;/i y x{0026}lt;i Shakespearex{0026}lt;/i , todos publicados por RBA.x{0026}lt;/p