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I'm a Stranger Here Myself : Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away.

I'm a Stranger Here Myself : Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away.

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $19.77
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bill Bryson's Best
Review: I too laughed out loud. This is one of the funniest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A laugh-out loud, tears run down your face book
Review: Not many books make me laugh out loud, or laugh so hard I can't tell my other half what's so funny. The description of a day at the beach, and getting out the Christmas decorations were wonderful...a humorous look at family life as well as the oddities of American culture.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a great book
Review: It was a great book, with lots of amusing and interesting bits,as well as bits were you couldn't help but laugh.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I have never laughed so hard!
Review: I can not in my entire 30 years ever remember laughing so hard. My wife thought she might need to call an ambulance. I was literally rolling on the floor with teary-eyed laughter. (The tax-form explanation was worth the price alone.) The book was "dry" in a few places but overall the book was hysterical! (I wish I could give it 4.5 stars; the only reason I did not give 5 stars are for the few "dry" spots which I have already mentioned.)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious
Review: I started reading this book while returning from a vacation trip to Germany. I had to put the book down about halfway through because my wife kept interrupting me to ask why there were tears rolling down my cheeks. If you enjoy reading a book that will keep at least smiling, and most likely laughing outloud, don't miss this one

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Christmas Present
Review: Really enjoyed this book (sold in Australia as Notes from a Big Country). It makes me want to visit the USA, and bears out some of my brother Matt's observations about Americans: ie. the lack of understanding of irony (Matt lived in Los Angeles for 2 years). Hope that Bill Bryson's forthcoming book on Australia is as insightful.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A good listen
Review: I bought the audiotape as read by the author for a long road trip I was taking. It remains the best audiotape buy I ever made. At times, it was just a biased commentary on American politics and at other times uproariously, drive-off-the-road funny look at what America takes for granted as everyday nuttiness. The book or tape are best for those that have spent time abroad and find Americans quirky. It will not be good for insular Americans or people looking for the exotic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Affectionate- he criticises because he cares!
Review: I am a Bill Bryson reader in England and I would like to say I have read the UK edition of this book and several other Bill Bryson titles, and I think Bill Bryson has done a lot to enhance the image of the USA in Britain, not harm it, and has increased understanding between British and American people. I think Bryson is so popular in America because British people like America so much and so are interested in his commentary of it. I am glad to see most reviews by Americans here are positive, but I think the ones which aren't are missing the real point of what Bryson is trying to do. To begin with I feel that the criticism offered of the USA can constructive, rather than just complaining for the sake of it. Bryson obviously loves America but is saddened by some aspects of it and wants to offer an alternative view of how, in his opinion, the USA could be improved even further. I find that people rarely bother to suggest improvements for countries they don't like because they don't care about them. It's only because Bryson obviously loves America that he cares enough to try and suggest ideas to improve the areas in which he feels the country has lost its way. Also a lot of the criticism is not actually comparing America unfavourably to other countries, but to America as it was before he left it- he's suggesting that some things have improved but others used to be better in the past-there's nothing anti-American about suggesting that some older American ideas and values should have been preserved. I think criticising Bryson for a "phoney accent" is a little unfair- he did live in England for almost two decades and it is well-known that people tend to pick up the speech patterns of those around them, which explains why Bryson may have a sort of American/English hybrid accent. Bryson certainly can be said to love England and be an Anglophile, but that doesn't mean he can't love America too- being patriotic does not mean you have to love your own country so much that you can't be allowed to see anything good or even better in another country, or enjoy living in another country- and remember that much as Bryson loved England, he still moved back to America to live- not something he would have done if he disliked America. This book contains much praise for America as well as criticism and I think it is balanced and fair. Bryson certainly exaggerates some of his experiences but it is obvious when he is doing it and it is just for comic effect, not to be misleading. This book has made me want to visit the USA more, not less. I would suggest US readers try and obtain copies of his excellent book "Notes from a Small Island" about Britain- they will find Bryson offers exactly the same blend of praise- AND CRITICISM!- of Britain as he does of the USA. I found his book on my country to be inspiring- certainly it was nice to read the praise but instead of feeling upset by the criticism I found myself agreeing with most of it and thinking about how Britain might change for the better. It's only through balanced criticsm a country can keep constantly re-evaluating itself and so keep cutting-edge through constant improvements. Bill Bryson is offering the USA his own opinions on how America might be improved because he genuinely loves the country- whether you agree with him or not, I think that's a statement of his confidence in the USA, not his dislike of it! Whether you come from the USA, Britain or elsewhere, buy this book- and enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great fun
Review: It is hard to know who this book will appeal to more, Americans willing to laugh at themselves or non-Americans wanting to laugh (jealously?) at our friendly neighbours. Actually, i think it will just appeal to people who want to be entertained. A very light-hearted book, with some genuinly hilarious moments. What a change to read an author who doesn't take himself too seriously. Maybe a bit of a con for those Brits who, like myself, religiously read the stories in Night and Day magazine a couple of years ago but still entertaining.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bill should get off his arse
Review: Introduced to Bryson with "Neither Here Nor There" and "Made in America," I used to be his no. 1 fan. His wit became a bit lacking with his stamina in "A Walk in the Woods," and he's just godawful with his latest effort. Granted, his audience with these missives are some of the palest creatures ever created, those Brits who make their minds up about America in an off-season weeklong trip to Miami Beach. Bill used to be wonderful; to get him back to his old self, his publisher should drop him in the middle of nowhere and let him write his way out. Enough about junk mail and American supermarkets.


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