In 1996, American journalist Bill Bryson, after a couple of decades living in England, returned to live in the United States. His stay in the UK had culminated in the publication of his ‘Notes from a Small Island’ giving his pithy outsider’s view of how the British live their lives. Back in the USA he turned his attention, freshened by his absence, to his homeland and countrymen, reporting back to the UK in the form of a weekly column for the Mail on Sunday magazine.
The format dictates that the pieces are short; Bryson’s talent ensures the quality is top notch. The subjects range far and wide – air travel, commercials, rules and red tape, shopping, and holidays, to name but a few. Each provides a mixture of humour, indignation, and wonderment at the nonsense so often encountered.
Twenty-five years
on, remarkably the pieces don’t seem dated. Many observations still apply and remain
relevant. When they don’t, they merely provide interest as a slice of social
history or nostalgia, and remain well worth the read.
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