Rating: 
Summary: An insight in to the British psyche
Review: Being British I can connect to the things Bryson is talking about but please don't see this as a whining travelogue or a book of constant moaning.
The insights that the author gives are so true I felt myself thinking 'How did he know that?'The destruction of architecture is a subject local newspapers take up resulting in great support and often a decline in planning applications by big corporate companies. Our country is so small that every town is starting to look like every other.
I live near Durham city, mentioned in the book, and it is regarded as a beautiful place due mainly to the good sense of the city planners in banning plate glass and insisting on traditional shop fronts. It is perfectly true that all British people talk about the weather, sad I know, but true. And yes we do see two inches of snow as a catastrophe-it makes headline news with strap lines such as 'The Big Freeze', I kid you not! The daft place names? We have a place called Hell, how daft is that? I think, rather than moaning, Bryson is picking out the good parts of Britain as well as campaigning for people to do something about the bad aspects. How many times does he say 'I just love that?' Royal Mail, BBC radio, the people who get up at 4am to catch a train to go shopping ( the Inverness - Glasgow line), the wit of employees who give you free groceries but charge £100s for a plastic bag to put them in. I think he is showing admiration in huge amounts here. The bits he grunts over are bits we British all moan about - especially the lady who sorts her purse out at the checkout, or Mrs Smegma in the boarding house - believe me these people DO exist.
As for the railways, EVERYONE in Britain agrees that they are rubbish - the government should never have sold them off, they are a complete shambles. I'm starting to rant here but do you know it can take commuters 3 hours to get to London from the Home counties, a distance of around 50 miles. I agree toilet humour plays a part but not a big part, most of the wit is subtle and very funny. The scene in the Scottish woollen shop had me cracked up but the main humour comes from observational comedy. I found the checkout scene hilarious because it's true, the scene in the restaurant where he leaves a 'minted'coin is having a dig at the pretentiousness of the situation, again side splitting because it's reality and we can recognise the absurdity of it. Rather than moaning I feel Bryson has given the world, especially the British themselves, a very valuable look into the minds of peole who live on this small island. Oh and it's absolutely hilarious as well.
Rating:
Summary: Ooh lovely, a cup of tea
Review: Brilliant, observant, hilarious and touching. I laughed out loud and was in tears at the end. His descriptions are so perfect that I was homesick by page 5. All the things we do and take for granted became strangely obscure when seen from a "foreigner's" point of view. It made me yearn for the simple life of long, windy, wet walks and a pint of beer up the pub, not to mention a thermos of tea and a biscuit loyally carried to a remote spot looking over the patchwork landscape. I could see it, I could smell it and I could taste it.
Rating: 
Summary: Loses something for those of us on the left side of the pond
Review: As an American, and an avid fan of Bryson's style, I picked up the book eagerly anticipating his usual hijinks and humor. While it was all there, I am afraid that a lot of the quality of the humor falls into the category of "this is really funny if you already know about it". Having only been to England for a short period of time, I am not particularly familiar with the quirks of English living, and while I enjoyed reading about them, this book didn't resonate with me in the way that The Lost Continent did. Beyond that, Bryson's style is as clever and witty as ever. After I finished this book, I realized that Bryson had written a travel guide of sorts that represented almost an anti-Rick Steeves approach, in that Bryson's backstories are always filled with eccentricity and humor. In planning my next trip to England, I'll certainly use this as a reference book for interesting things that might otherwise go overlooked. Not being an Englishman myself, I can't comment on how accurate anything that Bryson wrote is, but I can recommend it as a book that will point out just how different our American culture has grown from the Mother Country's. By the same token, you Brits reading this should pick up a copy of The Lost Continent to have a similar experience Bryson-style.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Another Bill Bryson book that meant I had to jump and run to the bathroom!! I am an American who is convinced at another time in life I lived in England because I love everything about it. This book described in well written detail the parts of England that most Americans will never see. I love how he stays out of the major areas and treks to areas that probably aren't mentioned even by the English in England. Underneath his self deprecating humor, you can hear his lament about another nation destroying treasures in the names of "progress" and "improvements". This book will be one of those on my bookshelves that never stays there long; because I will be constantly re-reading it!!
Rating:
Summary: There is Only One England
Review: Frankly this book is impressive as any in his series. One thinks the charm cannot last but it does. He covers a lot of details and never runs out of energy or small quaint places - with funny names - to visit. The book reflects what is truly english in a fish and chips sort of way going from town to town talking about trivia and important stuff. Touches on life in England including the Tele and the rest. He does it all with humour. After reading some others in the serious you wonder if the well for Bryson will ever run dry. But no. Job well done as usual,. It is a buy! Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Not for those who don't like critisism...
Review: This book was first introduced to me as part of my GCSE English exam (well, one of the practice ones anyway) and I admit I thought 'Hmmmm...', but then again I am always wary of reading different books (despite working in a Library!). But I was bored one time and decided to get it out of the library and read it. Why didn't I do it before??? This is a very funny book, full of the quirks that make this country what it is. For example, Bryson mentions this country's queuing system. In the US, if there are three windows open, say at a Railway Station or Post Office, there are three different queues, and the one you chose is the slowest. Over here, there is one queue, and when one window becomes availiable, the queue shortens by one. Before reading this, I didn't really realise this, didn't even think about it, and just did it as it was what was done. This book is full of these little quirks, not least the way someone walks into you and you apologise to them, and is also fill of what is what makes this country great, and also what makes this country not so great (for example his overdone emphasis on shopfront architecture. I agree with this, but think that he *did* overdo this just a bit. Shame he didn't visit Winchester really; I'd have liked to hear what he said about that...) I've only given it four stars however, basically because he put Barnstaple in a really really really bad light. OK, so it's good in the fact that it's really the only place he visits that he tells of the railway history of the town (especially as a lot of people only mention two stations not the true three!), and I am surprised he didn't mention the fact that the river actually flows upstream most of the time, but he did seem to have a bit of a bad time in Barnstaple but he should have given it a chance like he did everywhere else. Oh yeah - the stations on the line from Exeter to Barnstaple aren't called what he says they are, just to let you know! I don't know whether he did this to other place names in his book (if he did I'll down my rating to 3½ for false advertising as it were!), but the fact I know this area (due in part to the fact I live here) means that it kind of stuck out like a sore thumb! Maybe it's just that I can stand critism for other places, but not where I live. That's another British quirk Bryson comes out with...
Rating:
Summary: I speak as an English girl
Review: After reading many reviews from people who do not know Britain, I felt I must interject. I feel that this is Bryson's funniest and most telling book, specifically as I recognise what he is talking about. Those who do not know this little island or indeed don't like it/us at all are unlikely to appreciate it as much as those of us who experience it everyday! There are some sections I have read time and again (and watched on the television series of the same name). I have to say, that whilst I've loved each of the Bryson books I've read, this is the only one that has had repeat readings. But, perhaps it just because I'm English!!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy it
Review: I couldn't even get through the first half of the book on cassette of Notes From a Small Island. Bill Bryson sounds like he is trying desperately to fit the stereotype of an arrogant Engishman. There are plenty of nice people in England, so I have no idea why he feels the need emulate the snobs (which there are plenty of too). And the book isn't even funny. I don't think I cracked a smile once. Most of the humour is mean spirited. It appears that he gets great pleasure of sitting next to an overweight family just because he can watch them and find a reason to make fun of them.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't get it!
Review: Bryson has a suprisingly loyal contingency of fans - when I lived in London, every American that I encountered recommended this book (a humorous look at the foibles of the English culture from an American perspective...I was told...). No! The humor was minimal, the cultural satire was dry, and Bryson's persona was both uninteresting and unlikable. Most chapters consisted of Bryson attempting to find a place to eat lunch, then bitching about the poor weather. I was disappointed - he often comes so highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: Deadly Dull
Review: This was my first Bill Bryson book. I bought it because the last time my mom stayed over, she was up all night snorting with laughter at A Walk in The Woods. I'm more of an Anglophile, so decided to try this one instead. Gack. This books reads as though the author's brain was in neutral. It is obvious that he is talented, and equally obvious that he is coasting. I got really tired of sifting through endless dreariness and grouchiness; the brilliant quotes and historical anecdotes were great, but not worth the effort required to find them. I ended up leaving this book on an airplane in a fit of pique. Apologies to the poor innocent who found it.
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