The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

I thought this was a fun, slightly whimsical look at growing up in the 1950s in the midwest. I found it especially interesting because I have lived in Iowa all my life, and in Des Moines for the past 14 years, so I know all of the locations mentioned in the book. I have a feeling that in real life Bryson might be a bit of a curmudgeon - it does come across that way in the book at times. This is the first Bryson I have read, but I look forward to more.

I'd read anything by Bill Bryson, he makes me laugh without fail. Even if he wrote out his shopping list I'm sure he'd make it funny, unfortunately this is more or less what he falls back on a bit too often.
The unique circumstances of a fifties american childhood are captured with an alien anthropologist's eye but the lists of products or TV shows I could have done without.

I loved this book!

This book was great. I did not grow up in the 50's of course but I loved to hear the stories my mom, dad and grandparents told about it. This book is funny, funny, funny. There are a few parts that boarder on the obscene I must warn you, but really nothing too bad in my opinion.

Well... I'm definitely not this book's target market, since I'm not a baby boomer. Bill Bryson is always funny, and this book definitely had some hilarious turns of phrase. I have kind of complicated feelings about it, I suppose... he is very nostalgic for an era that I think of as being gross and oppressive, but undoubtedly Bill Bryson did have a very pleasant childhood in 1950s Des Moines, so shouldn't he have the right to write a happy memoir? I GUESS. I enjoyed this book, it was a fun, quick read, but to me, nothing as enjoyable as A Walk in the Woods or any of his travel books, which I unhesitatingly recommend.

Though this book wasn't as amusing as some of his other books, I really enjoyed Bryson's story of growing up in a small town in the 50s.

Whether he's writing about traveling, the English language, or science, I find Bryson to be reliably entertaining, interesting, and knowledgable. Here he's writing about his boyhood, growing up in Des Moines, Iowa. This too was a fun, quick read. There's some surprising bits in here too as well as some historical asides. And the whole bit about his father's penchant for semi-nude late-nite-snacking was pretty funny. Recommended for any Bryson fan or 50's nostalgia buff.

Bryson returns to form, hilarious and heartwarming anew. You'll enjoy the long-winded retelling of his parents' explanations about how to live life in 1950s Des Moines, along with informative discussions about how to break into a vending machine without getting caught, and how not to construct an improvised explosive device to get out of school.