Rating: 
Summary: extremely funny extremely perceptive
Review: As an Anglophile Irishman (I know that's a contradiction in terms)I've always had a high regard for those peculiar people who inhabit the neighbouring island. Bill Bryson's account of his travels around Great Britain are at times quite histerically funny and even his criticisms are couched in terms of deep affection. The only complaint I would have is that after a while his commentary goes a little flat and one gets the impression that he is tiring of his journey and is rushing somewhat in order to return home to his wife and children - not a bad fault in a man but a little irritating in a travel writer. Nonetheless a bloooming good read, I'll leave the last word to him as he sums up the enigma of modern Britain... ''Here is a country that fought and won a noble war, dismantled a mighty empire in a generally benign and enlightened way,created a far-seeing welfare state - in short, did nearly everything right - and then spent the rest of the century looking on itself a! s a chronic failure.''
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Summary: Very very funny..but...
Review: As a Brit married to an American, living in Asia for the past ten years, I can understand Bryson's confusions and frustrations. Most of what he says is absolutely true (especially about Bradford, where I grew up). Take it light heartedly- he's not trying to offer solutions, just observing this funny little country. BUT! He doesn't seem to want ANY kind of progress, he would prefer that we all lived in some kind of Disney-esque country, like the English pavilion at Epcot. Yes, we've concreted our quaint high streets and we don't all live in thatched cottages, but we want things the Americans have, like faceless shopping malls. If you don't mind Bryson's bewailing the loss of a country that may have only existed in his imagination, this is still an excellent commentary on all that's wrong, and right, with modern Britain- and a really funny book at the same time.
Rating: 
Summary: An American Views Life in Britain
Review: Bill Bryson expertly captures the mental amusement and bemusement of an American living in Britain. I am an American who also lived in England, and I laughed myself silly reading this book. This isn't meant to be a travel guide or an in depth academic study of British culture as some reviewers must evidently believe. There are many ways to reminisce about life in a foreign country, and BB chose to tell us fond, funny stories of his life in the UK. Let's not be stuffily chauvinistic about these things. I'm sure many Brits could write equally hilarious tales of their lives over here in the USA. For me its hard to understand that any American who has lived in Britain would not find funny such tales as the train/bus schedule incident (As I remember it the Brit Rail agent couldn't understand Bryson's difficulty with a schedule that had a daily train arrive in a town minutes after the scheduled departure of the daily bus that took travellers to their next destination.)If y! ou are a Bryson fan, this is as good as he gets. You will especially enjoy it if you have spent time in both the US and the UK.
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Summary: Bill is spot on...pass the chocolate digestives...
Review: Notes from a Small Island is so true! I'm a North American living in the UK and so many of Bill's observations jive with mine. I often quote his line about English weather: 'It's like living in Tupperware' and everybody says, "That's EXACTLY it!" This is a confusing place to live, but I periodically fish Notes out of my bookcase for a little relief when I get frustrated with these crazy people. Well, honestly. Anyway, here's hoping that Bill will go to Asia (especially Malaysia and Thailand) for a trip, that is a region which really deserves his attention.
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Summary: Startlingly good!
Review: I have just returned from a rather long plane flight during which I embarrassed myself and earned startled looks from my fellow travels...all due to Mr. Bryson's book. Having spent some time living in Britain, Bryson's book brings back the joys, terrors, and idiosyncrasies of living in a country that entertains itself with endless dancing competitions, unfathomable sports, and an endless supply of wit! Be warned...Notes from a Small Island is thoroughly enjoyable, but reading it on a bus, plane, or any other confined means of locomotion may earn you the odd look and furrowed brow from your fellow travelers.
Rating:
Summary: The funniest travel memoir ever written.
Review: Bill Bryson's rasor-sharp wit hits the nail on the head. I loved every page and was disappointed the fun had to end. If you're traveling to England, this is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Rip-roaringly funny. The Introduction is a first-class.
Review: I have read this book a number of times and each time I have found it very funny. The Introduction is a first-class piece of comic writing and leads one in to an amusing jaunt around Britain. Through Bill Bryson, the foibles of us Brits are revealed and poked fun at, but in such a way that I as a reader, could share the joke with Bill. It's a thoroughly enjoyable book, which I can recommend to anyone who wants to escape from the problems of today's world for a while, and have a good laugh. My only adverse comment about the book is, are the High Streets of British towns,today, so stereotypical? I think not.
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Summary: How To Get A Seat On The Train!
Review: Thank's...My homesickness is now worse than ever! Notes From a Small Island must be one of the most insightfull peeks through the net curtains of Old Blighty yet written. It was recommended to me by my brother on my last visit to London in June '97. He even bought it for me at the airport as I was leaving with instructions to read it ASAP! Bryson "gets it", he understands the contradictions, insecurities, the pride, self depreciating, idiotic, wonderful, the plonkers, the whole understated mindset, that go together to make up England. The "gob smacking" awe of the place, the begrudging raised finger of hello, the uptight dog owners, the delightfully smarmy hotel owner seen throught the eyes of 6 pints... and then again the next morning. I have read it twice, and Bill, if you are reading this, I too know I will return to my home (soon), this, my England. Oh! yes, how to get a seat on the train, well I had plenty of room when I was reading Note's... maybe it was my giggling shoulders, maybe it was the "snurrrfgt!" noise's I was making, then again it cold have been the tears (from both laughing and of recognition, the tug of homesickness!). Thanks for the read Bill.
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Summary: The best and funniest account on travelling in the UK
Review: I have read 2 contemporary accounts on travel in the UK, that by Paul Theroux and Bill Bryson. Paul's fashionable left wing haughtiness and his propensity for meeting people he hates make you wonder why he bothers to travel at all except to write a book or meet famous people. Bill, on the other hand is always sympathetic to the locals, enjoys their company hugely and imparts his enthusiasm to his readers. He laughs at their foibles but never in a condensending way. And in spite of Paul's reputation as a serious novelist, Bill uses language much more effectively. And infinitely, more funny. Two Americans who have lived in the UK and travelled the world extensively ....Bill obviously enjoys living in this world much more. I wish he would make a trip to the East and write about it.
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Summary: Americans beware, read before visiting our "Motherland"!
Review: For those Americans who have yet to travel to the "Motherland", Bill Bryson offers nothing short of a comical yet accurate account of what they should expect if they do chose to vist. Bryson explores the intricacies of such daunting tasks as: learning to flush and English toilet and the etiquette associated with that, use of British transportation systems, searching for a Bed and Breakfast, English names and origins, storytelling among the elders, and certainly the most important aspect of Britain, pub life. Through telling personal narratives of historical locations he visits and describing the incredible differences in what Americans and English emphasize in their day to day life, Bill Bryson makes you feel proud of the heritage of America (but not proud enough to pick up roots and move across the Atlantic). Most strikingly, even though Amercians and Brits share the same language, there is a world of difference between our cultures.
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