Notes From A Small Island

<p>Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines Iowa in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling Notes from a Small Island A Walk in the Woods One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science A Short History of Nearly Everything won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.<br>Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005–2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.</p> In 1995 before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were) and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble' and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and <i>Gardeners' Question Time</i>. <i>Notes from a Small Island</i> was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain going on to sell over two million copies. Not a book that should be read in public for fear of emitting loud snorts Laugh-out-loud funny Splendid... What's enjoyable is that there's as much of Bryson in here as there is of Britain Bryson is funny because he is not afraid to give completely of himself Astute and funny...a tribute to [Britain's] enchantments by an unabashed anglophile. In 1995 before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were) and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble' and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and <i>Gardeners' Question Time</i>. <i>Notes from a Small Island</i> was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain going on to sell over two million copies.