by Bill Bryson
First published 2015
After living in Britain for nearly twenty years, Bill Bryson prepares to return to the United States. He decides his fellow Americans need him after reading that 3.7 million of them believe aliens have abducted them. Before leaving, Bryson embarks on one final journey across the country that became his home. He travels through the green countryside and explores a nation that created zebra crossings, produced Shakespeare, and contains places with peculiar names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. Bryson observes British life with the eye of an outsider who has grown to love his adopted home. His tour swings between absurd moments and touching discoveries. The journey becomes both a farewell letter and a celebration of British culture, capturing everything from everyday oddities to national treasures. Bryson writes as an unashamed admirer of Britain, finding humor and warmth in the quirks of island life.
Genres: american-fiction, humor, 20th-century, adventure, contemporary, british-literature, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, outsider-perspective
Setting: Britain, United States
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
368 pages · Unknown Binding · William Morrow Paperbacks