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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Bill Bryson
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About this listen

 Some say that the first hint that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came when his mother sent him to school in lime-green Capri pants. Others think it all started with his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman.

Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, "I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to." In his deeply funny new memoir, he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, and the curious world of 1950s America. It was a happy time, when almost everything was good for you, including DDT, cigarettes, and nuclear fallout. This is a book about growing up in a specific time and place. But in Bryson's hands, it becomes everyone's story, one that will speak volumes: especially to anyone who has ever been young.

©Bill Bryson; (P)Corgi Audio Authors Comedy & Humour State & Local Funny

Critic Reviews

"Hugely funny (not snigger-snigger funny, but great-big-belly-laugh-till-you-cry funny)." ( Daily Telegraph)

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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for linda goodall

Loved it.

Re-lived my childhood through this book, and lament the by gone era that was so safe for children growing up then. Bill's humour and accuracies of explaining the innocent working of children's thoughts is a must read.

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