The Lost Continent (Radio Collection) Audio CD – 2 Jun. 2003

OH dear, Bill Bryson has written some terrific books , but this isn't one of them. He describes a succession of awful dead end towns in America, each one more boring and dead-end than the last in ever more negative prose. I imagine he was as glad to come to the end of his voyage as most readers were to come to the end of the book. Even a writer famed for being laugh out loud funny can produce a turkey sometimes it seems.

A terrific read - full of great descriptions, interesting and sometimes very funny anecdotes. I laughed out loud often and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I absolutely love Bill Bryson’s books and his terrific sense of humour. This book, like all his books, is also full of really amazing facts and statistics. Brilliant. Highly recommend. I live in hope of more books to come from him.

Bill Bryson's writing is insightful, funny and revealing both about his country of birth and his younger self. Although less sophisticated that some of his later books, The Lost Continent is about the regret he feels for what America has become. But one of the characteristics of the book is that just as it begins to become melancholic he makes you laugh out loud at some judgement, comment or observation. Literate, clever and a good companion for a road trip are qualities shared by Bill Bryson and his book, The Lost Continent.

Bryson is one of the finest travel writers of modern times and this is one of his best books. He is a warm companion but also a very human one, quite capable of being irritated, frustrated or horrified with what he sees, as well as being awestruck, delighted or simply bored. On occasion, this book is very, very funny. It runs out of steam a little in the final third and the California section is a little weak. More interesting is to re-visit the book to see how time has passed and how Bryson anticipates some of the absurdities of the US (and more generally) that have worsened since this book was written - convenience leading to obesity, institutional financial carelessness and the excesses of commercialism.

This was a replacement copy for a tattered edition as I love this novel so much. It's maybe Bill Bryson's funniest, and great fun if you have travelled in the US in the past.

Bill Bryson is rightly known as probably the funniest and well informed writer of travel books in the world.This is no mean feet as there are plenty of writers out there who try to emulate Mr. Bryson but inevitably fail at the first hurdle.Brysons `The Lost Continent`(Travels in Small Town America )was first published and read by me over 20 years ago and I`m pleased to report that the intervening years have not diminished my admiration for this hilarious and yet serious writer.I would urge anyone who has not as yet read Bill Bryson to buy this book and be prepared to extend your library with a whole selection of this mans writings.Amazons amazing prices make this and all his books very available.Buy now !

This was a replacement for my original copy which I’ve lost/mislaid/loaned to someone! Every bit as good as I’d remembered, typical Bryson humour.The book was in good condition and arrived promptly.

Interesting book as Bill Bryson revisits parts of his youth on a road trip. Poignant and funny but you really can't go back and expect it to be the same! Some intersting encounters but not his funniest observations.

La consegna è consistita nel buttare il pacco nel giardino condominiale, senza neanche suonare il campanello. Mi era' già successo altre volte e almeno un ordine mi è andato perso. Quindi per il recapito 1 stella è anche troppo.Venendo al libro, che considero spassoso, non condivido le recensioni negative di altri acquirenti, Bryson non è certo come Manzoni o Tolstoi (se mai si può paragonare a M. Twain) e come tale va approcciato. Avendo vissuto e viaggiato molto in USA ho trovato nel libro una critica ironica (e a volte marcatamente comica) a situazioni e abitudini tipiche della provincia americana. Lo avevo già letto questo libro in italiano, ma ho voluto rileggerlo nella lingua originale per evitare la mediazione della traduzione e godere della immediatezza.

Entretenido libro que sigue al autor por sus devenires en su tierra natal. Ofrece una visión de la parte rural de Estados Unidos, en ocasiones, perfectamente debajo del paraguas del estereotipo. Lectura recomendable para saber un poco más de determinadas zonas de EEUU y para pasar un buen rato.

Having grown up in Iowa and living in Europe myself, Bill Bryson's prose resonated with me. He captured a feel for what America can feel like after living abroad, though readers should realise that the book was written in the end of the 1980's, after eight years of Reagan yet before East Germany and the Soviet Union fell apart, the rise of the Internet, and the changes that the 11th of September 2001 brought in the mood. It does show its age when you read it today.As it documents his actual travels, it does not follow a classic build up, but ends as many trips do, making it back home tired, but happy to have made the trip in the first place. Bill's writing is good, but not as good as his later books.

Zum Inhalt haben die anderen Rezensenten schon einiges gesagt. Daher nur zwei Ergänzungen:1.) Wer andere Bücher Bill Bysons kennt, weiß wie gelungen er Information mit Humor verbinden kann. Selbst in seiner Einführung in die Naturwissenschaften (The History of Nearly Everything) gelingt ihm das schier Unmögliche - geballte Faktenvermittlung in ironisch-plauderndem Tonfall ohne jemals ins Flache abzugleiten. Auch in The Lost Continent finden wir diese beiden Element, doch war Brysons Humor nie frecher und bissiger als hier. Ich schließe mich der u.a. Warnung an: Nie in der Öffentlichkeit lesen! Das doch sehr schlichte Wesen seine provinziellen Landsleute stachelt den aus Iowa stammenden, aber in aller Welt umhergereisten Bryson zu Spotttiraden an, die einfach umwerdend komisch sind.2.) Bei aller Bissigkeit - das Buch vermittelt eine große Fülle Informationen zum "echten" Amerika. Bryson schaut durch die Brille eines gebildeten Linken, der viele Jahre im Ausland gelebt hat. Immer wieder hält er sich länger an einzelnen Begegnungen und Eindrücken auf, sei es das TV-Programm, die Küche des Süden, der Rassimus, die Sehenswürdigkeiten etc. So nimmt der Leser nicht nur die Reiseroute wahr, sondern diese wird ausführlich kommentiert.

Book quality is amazing considering its printed in 1990s.Bought in second hand but its almost new and no wear and scribbles.Overall more than satisfied with pages quality font size, binding and one of the funniest books to read

Hilarious and insightful. I have read some other works of Mr Bryson and absolutely love his style of narration. In fact this book when i first read it some years back (borrowed from a friend) was what got me hooked to Bill Bryson and I wanted to have a my own kindle copy for a long time..

Bill Bryson hat eine wahnsinnig unterhaltsame Art, über Land und Leute zu erzählen. Sind seine Europareisen sehr mit Klischees beladen, kommt mir sein USA-Bericht besser vor (auch wenn ich selbst natürlich nicht beurteilen kann, inwieweit nicht auch vieles Klischee ist). Die Hauptsache in seinen Romanen ist aber einfach seine unterhaltsame Sprache - ein typisches Gute-Laune-Buch!

And a lot of pretty poorly thought-out stereotypes. I'm reading this book 25 years after it was written, and maybe if the author were to make his trip again he'd have a a different experience, but I am struggling to relate to his point of view. I have traveled extensively, and to many of the places he stopped, and cannot see what he has seen. I find too, like many of the other reviews, that his stereotypes of some areas to be bordering on racist, but again I'm not sure if that's a product of the time it was written.I'm 50% through the book but am giving up on it. I don't like to not end a book, but I can't stand the complaining.

Le livre est arrivé dans un moins bon état que celui décrit dans l'annonce.Pour ce qui est du contenu, le début est amusant, les réflexions de B. Bryson divertissantes et instructives mais deviennent progressivement répétitives. Il ne lui vient jamais à l'idée de varier ce qu'il fait dans les villes qu'il visite, ou les lieux où il s'arrête. Il n'anticipe pas que les restos peuvent être fermés, ne fait pas de courses même d'alimentation pour se faire un sandwich, ne visite que des lieux de mémoire, pas de musée, de match de sport (comme il le remarque lui-même à la fin), pas de théâtre, pas de concert de musique. Il ne nous parle que des motels miteux et du poulet frit qu'il mange dans différents 'restos' ou des 'Cornish pastries' qu'il goûte une fois. Donc son exposé est amusant au début mais un peu limité et étroit d'esprit. Toute la partie sur l'ouest des Etats unis est franchement inutile, d'où mon titre '100 pages en trop'.

I read the book whilst on an assignment in Texas. It's funny and true and in almost every page you recognize the American way but taken with the view of the foreigners. It's a long trip and as such the book may become slow, but this is also America

I've been meaning to catch up on this Bryson book, and I wasn't disappointed.

Present for hubby who absolutely loves this guy.Soon as the present was opened, it was on his bedside table. From the grin on his face, I can tell he loves it

A story of Iowa and a story of our great country...funny and hilarious as told by what it is now a British Man who came back to his own land to see how it was after a while..i suggest it

This is his first book and it filled with Brysonisms. Very entertaining

Condition as expected