#90 in Biography & memoir
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
- 288
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” finds Bill Bryson in very funny form, recalling a 1950s Iowa childhood with open affection. It is a memoir of growing up in Des Moines and, alongside it, a commentary on American life in that decade; most readers come away laughing. Some dislike how he writes about girls and women, others find a few passages close to obscene, and others again cannot share his nostalgia.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a 2006 memoir by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The book delves into Bryson's past, telling of his youth growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1950s and early 1960s. It also reveals the backstory between himself and Stephen Katz, who appeared in A Walk in the Woods and Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe. Bryson also describes and comments on American life in the 1950s. The title of the book comes from an imaginary alter ego Bryson invented for himself in his childhood, who has the ability to vaporise people.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 139 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 49% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Rankings average of 7.8. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 9 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 130 | 94% |
If you liked this
