Picture 1 of 2
Gallery
Picture 1 of 2
Have one to sell?
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bryson, Bill Hardback The
FREE US DELIVERY | ISBN: 076791936X | Quality Books
US $8.35
Approximately£6.18
Condition:
Good
A book that has been read, but is in good condition. Minimal damage to the book cover eg. scuff marks, but no holes or tears. If this is a hard cover, the dust jacket may be missing. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. No highlighting of text, no writing in the margins, and no missing pages. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.
- Buy it nowThe Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bryson, Bill Hardback The
Oops! Looks like we're having trouble connecting to our server.
Refresh your browser window to try again.
Postage:
Free USPS Ground Advantage®.
Located in: Florida, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Thu, 11 Sep and Wed, 17 Sep to 94104
Returns:
30 days return. Buyer pays for return postage. If you use an eBay delivery label, it will be deducted from your refund amount.
Payments:
Shop with confidence
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:385439346961
Item specifics
- Condition
- ISBN
- 076791936X
- EAN
- 9780767919364
- Date of Publication
- 2006-10-17
- Publication Name
- N/A
- Type
- Hardback
- Release Title
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
- Artist
- Bryson, Bill
- Brand
- N/A
- Colour
- N/A
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Crown Publishing Group, T.H.E.
ISBN-10
076791936X
ISBN-13
9780767919364
eBay Product ID (ePID)
28038531714
Product Key Features
Book Title
Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid : a Memoir
Number of Pages
288 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2006
Topic
Personal Memoirs, Literary, United States / State & Local / MidWest (IA, Il, in, Ks, Mi, MN, Mo, Nd, Ne, Oh, Sd, Wi), Form / Essays
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Biography & Autobiography, Humor, History
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
0.9 in
Item Weight
19.9 Oz
Item Length
9.5 in
Item Width
6.4 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2006-043859
TitleLeading
The
Reviews
"A charming, funny recounting of growing up in Des Moines during the sleepy 1950s. Bryson combines nostalgia, sharp wit and a dash of hyperbole to recreate his childhood in the rural Midwest. A great, fun read, especially for Baby Boomers nostalgic for the good old days." Kirkus Reviews *Starred* "While many memoirs convey a bittersweet nostalgia, Bill Bryson's loving look at his childhood inThe Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kidis genuinely sweet. Framed within young Bryson's fantasy of being a superhero, it matches the author's sparkling wit with his vivid, candid memories of 1950s America. Adding a healthy dose of social history, Bryson tells a larger story, with vignettes that reveal the gap between America's postwar glow and its underlying angst. Bryson also touchingly recalls his father's career as a sportswriter, his mother's awkward experiments with cooking and the outrageous adventures of his infamous traveling companion, Stephen Katz." Publishers Weekly, Fall Preview "Bill Bryson's laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It's full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies." Tom Brokaw, NBC News "Bryson recounts the world of his younger self, buried in comic books in the Kiddie Corral at the local supermarket, resisting civil defense drills at school, and fruitlessly trying to unravel the mysteries of sex. His alter ego, the Thunderbolt Kid, born of his love for comic-book superheroes and the need to vaporize irritating people, serves as an astute outside observer of life around him. His family's foibles are humorously presented, from his mother's burnt, bland cooking to his father's epic cheapness. The larger world of 1950s America emerges through the lens of 'Billy's' world, including the dark underbelly of racism, the fight against communism, and the advent of the nuclear age." Library Journal "Travel humorist Bryson took a decisive stand regarding his hometown almost 20 years ago when he published the story "Fat Girls in Des Moines" inGrantamagazine. Now the author delves more deeply into his midwestern roots in a bittersweet laugh-out-loud recollection of his growing-up years. This affectionate portrait wistfully recalls the bygone days ofBurns and Allenand downtown department stores but with a good-natured elbow poke to the ribs." Booklist Reviews "Takes us on yet another amiable ramble through terrain viewed with his characteristic mixture of bemused wit, acerbic astonishment and sweet benevolence…we come closest to the real Bryson in this, his first true memoir…encompasses so much of human experience that you want to smile and sob at once…Bryson's evocation of an era is near perfect: tender, hilarious and true. " The Times (UK) "A wittily incisive book about innocence, and its limits, but in no sense an innocent book…Like Alan Bennett, another ironist posing as a sentimentalist, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then deliver a sudden, grizzly-style swipe…might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozen think-tanks. " Independent "Always witty and sometimes hilarious…wonderfully funny and touching." Literary Review (UK) "A funny, effortlessly readable, quietly enchanted memoir…Bryson also provides a quirky social history of, "A charming, funny recounting of growing up in Des Moines during the sleepy 1950s. Bryson combines nostalgia, sharp wit and a dash of hyperbole to recreate his childhood in the rural Midwest. A great, fun read, especially for Baby Boomers nostalgic for the good old days." -"Kirkus Reviews *Starred*" "While many memoirs convey a bittersweet nostalgia, Bill Bryson's loving look at his childhood in "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is genuinely sweet. Framed within young Bryson's fantasy of being a superhero, it matches the author's sparkling wit with his vivid, candid memories of 1950s America. Adding a healthy dose of social history, Bryson tells a larger story, with vignettes that reveal the gap between America's postwar glow and its underlying angst. Bryson also touchingly recalls his father's career as a sportswriter, his mother's awkward experiments with cooking and the outrageous adventures of his infamous traveling companion, Stephen Katz." -"Publishers Weekly, Fall Preview" "Bill Bryson's laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It's full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies." -"Tom Brokaw, NBC News" "Bryson recounts the world of his younger self, buried in comic books in the Kiddie Corral at the local supermarket, resisting civil defense drills at school, and fruitlessly trying to unravel the mysteries of sex. His alter ego, the Thunderbolt Kid, born of his love for comic-book superheroes and the need to vaporize irritating people, serves as an astute outside observer of life around him. His family's foibles are humorously presented, from his mother's burnt, bland cooking tohis father's epic cheapness. The larger world of 1950s America emerges through the lens of 'Billy's' world, including the dark underbelly of racism, the fight against communism, and the advent of the nuclear age." -"Library Journal" "Travel humorist Bryson took a decisive stand regarding his hometown almost 20 years ago when he published the story "Fat Girls in Des Moines" in "Granta "magazine. Now the author delves more deeply into his midwestern roots in a bittersweet laugh-out-loud recollection of his growing-up years. This affectionate portrait wistfully recalls the bygone days of "Burns and Allen" and downtown department stores but with a good-natured elbow poke to the ribs." -"Booklist Reviews" "Takes us on yet another amiable ramble through terrain viewed with his characteristic mixture of bemused wit, acerbic astonishment and sweet benevolence...we come closest to the real Bryson in this, his first true memoir...encompasses so much of human experience that you want to smile and sob at once...Bryson's evocation of an era is near perfect: tender, hilarious and true. " -"The Times (UK)" "A wittily incisive book about innocence, and its limits, but in no sense an innocent book...Like Alan Bennett, another ironist posing as a sentimentalist, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then deliver a sudden, grizzly-style swipe...might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozen think-tanks." -"Independent" "Always witty and sometimes hilarious...wonderfully funny and touching." -"Literary Review (UK)" "A funny, effortlessly readable, quietly enchanted memoir...Bryson also provides a quirky social history of America...he alwaysmanages to slam on the brakes with a good joke just when things might get sentimental. " -"Daily Mail (UK)" "He can capture the flavour of the past with the lightest of touches...marvellous set pieces...As a chronicler of the foibles and absurdities of daily life, Bryson has few peers. " -"Sunday Telegraph (UK)" "The beautifully realized elegiac tone of his childhood memoir invites readers to go tumbling down the rabbit hole of memory into the best days of their lives...by turns playful affectionate, gently mocking, laugh-out-loud funny and even wistfully, "Bill Bryson's laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It's full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies." --Tom Brokaw "Bryson is unparalleled in his ability to cut a culture off at the knees in a way that is so humorous and so affectionate that those being ridiculed are laughing too hard to take offense." --"The Wall Street Journal" "A cross between de Tocqueville and Dave Barry, Bryson writes about...America in a way that's both trenchantly observant and pound-on-the-floor, snort-root-beer-out-of-your-nose funny." --"San Franciso Examiner" "Bill Bryson could write an essay about dryer lint or fever reducers and still make us laugh out loud." --"Chicago Sun-Times" "Bryson is...great company...a lumbering, droll, neatnik intellectual who comes off as equal parts Garrison Keillor, Michael Kinsley, and...Dave Barry." --"New York Times Book Review" "Takes us on yet another amiable ramble through terrain viewed with his characteristic mixture of bemused wit, acerbic astonishment and sweet benevolence...we come closest to the real Bryson in this, his first true memoir...encompasses so much of human experience that you want to smile and sob at once...Bryson's evocation of an era is near perfect: tender, hilarious and true. " -"The Times (UK)" "A wittily incisive book about innocence, and its limits, but in no sense an innocent book...Like Alan Bennett, another ironist posing as a sentimentalist, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then deliver a sudden, grizzly-style swipe...might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozen think-tanks." -"Independent" "Always witty and sometimes hilarious...wonderfully funny and touching." -"Literary Review (UK)" "A funny, effortlessly readable, quietly enchanted memoir...Bryson also provides a quirky social history of America...he always manages to slam on the brakes with a good joke just when things might get sentimental. " -"Daily Mail (UK)" "He can capture the flavour of the past with the lightest of touches...marvellous set pieces...As a chronicler of the foibles and absurdities of daily life, Bryson has few peers. " -"Sunday Telegraph (UK)" "The beautifully realized elegiac tone of his childhood memoir invites readers to go tumbling down the rabbit hole of memory into the best days of their lives...by turns playful affectionate, gently mocking, laugh-out-loud funny and even wistfully sad. His greatest gift is as a humorist, however, so it is the snickers, the guffaws and the undignified belly laughs he delivers on almost every page that make it worth buying...probably the funniest book you'll read this year. No, dammit. It is the funniest book you'll find anytime soon. " -"Sydney Morning Herald" "Is this the most cheerful book I've ever read, or the saddest'...hilarious...a lovely, happy book. " -"London Evening Standard" "Bryson Ýwrites¨ with a whiff of irony and a stronger perfume of affection, but never the stink of sentimentality. Darting between his life and the trajectory of America, he slips in a few key contextualising details, which he deploys with the same deft ease that made his A Short History of Nearly Everything so sneakily edifying...very few Ýmemoirs¨ contain a well of happiness this deep, or this complexlyrendered." -"Scotland on Sunday", " A charming, funny recounting of growing up in Des Moines during the sleepy 1950s. Bryson combines nostalgia, sharp wit and a dash of hyperbole to recreate his childhood in the rural Midwest. A great, fun read, especially for Baby Boomers nostalgic for the good old days." - "Kirkus Reviews *Starred*" " While many memoirs convey a bittersweet nostalgia, Bill Bryson's loving look at his childhood in "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is genuinely sweet. Framed within young Bryson's fantasy of being a superhero, it matches the author's sparkling wit with his vivid, candid memories of 1950s America. Adding a healthy dose of social history, Bryson tells a larger story, with vignettes that reveal the gap between America's postwar glow and its underlying angst. Bryson also touchingly recalls his father's career as a sportswriter, his mother's awkward experiments with cooking and the outrageous adventures of his infamous traveling companion, Stephen Katz." - "Publishers Weekly, Fall Preview" " Bill Bryson's laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It's full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies." - "Tom Brokaw, NBC News" " Bryson recounts the world of his younger self, buried in comic books in the Kiddie Corral at the local supermarket, resisting civil defense drills at school, and fruitlessly trying to unravel the mysteries of sex. His alter ego, the Thunderbolt Kid, born of his love for comic-book superheroes and the need to vaporize irritating people, serves as an astuteoutside observer of life around him. His family's foibles are humorously presented, from his mother's burnt, bland cooking to his father's epic cheapness. The larger world of 1950s America emerges through the lens of ' Billy' s' world, including the dark underbelly of racism, the fight against communism, and the advent of the nuclear age." - "Library Journal" " Travel humorist Bryson took a decisive stand regarding his hometown almost 20 years ago when he published the story " Fat Girls in Des Moines" in "Granta "magazine. Now the author delves more deeply into his midwestern roots in a bittersweet laugh-out-loud recollection of his growing-up years. This affectionate portrait wistfully recalls the bygone days of "Burns and Allen" and downtown department stores but with a good-natured elbow poke to the ribs." - "Booklist Reviews" " Takes us on yet another amiable ramble through terrain viewed with his characteristic mixture of bemused wit, acerbic astonishment and sweet benevolence... we come closest to the real Bryson in this, his first true memoir... encompasses so much of human experience that you want to smile and sob at once... Bryson's evocation of an era is near perfect: tender, hilarious and true. " - "The Times (UK)" " A wittily incisive book about innocence, and its limits, but in no sense an innocent book... Like Alan Bennett, another ironist posing as a sentimentalist, Bryson can play the teddy-bear and then deliver a sudden, grizzly-style swipe... might tell us as much about the oddities of the American way as a dozenthink-tanks. " - "Independent" " Always witty and sometimes hilarious... wonderfully funny and touching." - "Literary Review (UK)" " A funny, effortlessly readable, quietly enchanted memoir... Bryson also provides a quirky social history of America... he always manages to slam on the brakes with a good joke just when things might get sentimental. " - "Daily Mail (UK)" " He can capture the flavour of the past with the lightest of touches... marvellous set pieces... As a chronicler of the foibles and absurdities of daily life, Bryson has few peers. " - "Sunday Telegraph (UK)" " The beautifully realized elegiac tone of his childhood memoir invites readers to go tumbling down the rabbit hole of memory into the best days of their lives... by turns playful affectionate, gently mockin
Dewey Edition
22
Dewey Decimal
910.4092 B
Synopsis
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s 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 best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat 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 with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)--in his head--as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality--a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the localpaper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson's earlier classic, "A Walk in the Woods, " will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends. Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young., From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s 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 best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat 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 with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)--in his head--as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality--a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson's earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends. Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
LC Classification Number
G154.5.B79A3 2006
Item description from the seller
Seller business information
VAT number: GB 922696893
About this seller
World of Books USA
88.3% positive Feedback•5.2M items sold
Registered as a business seller
Seller Feedback (1,567,543)
- 4***7 (209)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchase1st edition, 2nd impression edition of "The Drunken Forest," by Gerald Durrell is as pictured & described. Arrived quickly & safely! Got a great deal on it! Great communication! The book, with a protective mylar cover, was wrapped in bubble wrap, then wrapped in sturdy cardboard, then placed in a rugged bubble mailer! Fort Knox in a mailer! So hard to get an early edition of this classic! So happy to add to my growing collection of nature & science books! Thank you! !!Seller Highly Recommended!!
- 6***6 (74)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseThis delivery was earliest date! Condition, value, quality - all as described. (My mistake was not requiring the publishing date to be 1958. This was 1977.) This IS a Viking Portable Library copy of Dante's Divine Comedy in English, translated by Laurence Binyon, but it is with a cover DIFFERENT from what was shown. The tracking number was listed as from "UPS", but should have been listed as from "USPS." Contact with this seller alleviated tracking issues. I recommend this seller! Thank you!
- p***a (187)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseI purchased two books from the same seller; both were accurately advertised in product write ups. Seller responded promptly and securely packaged both books for swift arrival. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recommend this seller.
Product ratings and reviews
Most relevant reviews
- 08 Nov, 2015Most favourable review
Bill Bryson, a very funny author!!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: vadasstore
- 15 Nov, 2017
Growing up in the Fifties
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: discover-books
- 16 Jul, 2016
GREAT MEMORIES!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: waddlebooks
- 26 Jul, 2017
interesting read
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: discover-books
- 29 Nov, 2017
Laugh out loud funny if you are over 50 years old
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: discover-books
More to explore:
- The Wheel of Time Hardback Fiction Books,
- Thunderbolts Comics, Graphic Novels & TPBs,
- Thunderbolts Comics, Graphic Comic Books,
- Hardback Books,
- Thunderbolts Superheroes Comics, Graphic Novels & TPBs,
- Hardback Sports Books,
- Life Magazines,
- Marvel Comics Thunderbolts Comics, Graphic Novels & TPBs,
- Hardback Adult and Erotic Books,
- Children's Hardback Picture Books
Seller Feedback (1,567,543)
- 4***7 (209)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchase1st edition, 2nd impression edition of "The Drunken Forest," by Gerald Durrell is as pictured & described. Arrived quickly & safely! Got a great deal on it! Great communication! The book, with a protective mylar cover, was wrapped in bubble wrap, then wrapped in sturdy cardboard, then placed in a rugged bubble mailer! Fort Knox in a mailer! So hard to get an early edition of this classic! So happy to add to my growing collection of nature & science books! Thank you! !!Seller Highly Recommended!!
- 6***6 (74)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseThis delivery was earliest date! Condition, value, quality - all as described. (My mistake was not requiring the publishing date to be 1958. This was 1977.) This IS a Viking Portable Library copy of Dante's Divine Comedy in English, translated by Laurence Binyon, but it is with a cover DIFFERENT from what was shown. The tracking number was listed as from "UPS", but should have been listed as from "USPS." Contact with this seller alleviated tracking issues. I recommend this seller! Thank you!
- p***a (187)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseI purchased two books from the same seller; both were accurately advertised in product write ups. Seller responded promptly and securely packaged both books for swift arrival. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recommend this seller.