Bill Bryson — Notes from a Small Island

Black Swan 1996 Paperback, 352pp. After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife a chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week, and most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, 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 analyze what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and 'Gardeners' Question Time'. Spine creased, soling to page edges. (ISBN: 9780552996006). Fair.