Rating: 
Summary: Slaps you in the face, then grows on you
Review: After having enjoyed many of Bryson's other books, I was taken aback by the petty criticism in "The Lost Continent's" opening pages. It seemed as if he were trying to impress his friends back in England, tearing down all things American to establish that he wasn't really such a bloody Yank after all. Had he taken a lot of teasing over there? I wondered how uncommonly scintillating a person would have to be for Bryson not to paint him as a dullard, or how exciting a town would have to be for him not to label it a dead-end hole.As Bryson continued in his travels, however, he seemed to soften, and maybe I'm being charitable but it seemed to be a coherent process--he was falling back in love with America, and becoming one of us again. By the time he made it back to Iowa, he'd regained the ability to find beauty in everyday American life. I agree with other readers who were disappointed that he didn't get away from the interstate-fast food "generica" a little more, and I also wish he wouldn't resort so quickly to calling rural areas "boring." Still, I'd call this one a late-inning save. I will go ahead and read "I'm a Stranger Here Myself," but it had better not be a rehash of this.
Rating: 
Summary: Bill Bryson has lost something ...
Review: What a disappointment! I have read all of Bill Bryson's other books eagerly and they were some of the best entertainment I've had with a mix of sarcasm and an appreciation for life. This newest book is written by a Bill Bryson who has evidently become a bitter old man. His humor is weak, and his sarcasm is mean and cold. He has none of the balance of positive with negative that made his previous books a delight. If you love Bill Bryson . . . don't buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Funny, but hardly a cultural document
Review: Bryson is a very funny writer. He pokes fun at everything and everyone, including himself, which is good, because he's clearly a fussy, cheap, crotchety, fat old jerk. The self-deprecation goes a long way to mitigate his lack of appeal. This book is extremely humorous - Bryson's got real comic timing - but it has all the weight of a Dave Barry column. Bryson never explores small town America, despite his purported intent; he just visits the same tourist traps any of us would on a cross country trip. This isn't bad, necessarily; it's just not exactly a rumination on the "lost America." If you want that, get William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways or Jonathan Raban's Hunting Mister Heartbreak - two excellent books about the real underbelly of non-corporate America. Bryson's book is a great read, but it doesn't say anything that any halfway observant person hasn't already grasped about mainstream America.
Rating: 
Summary: Witty, insightful, hilarious book.
Review: I loved this book. Bryson captures my many memories of family vacations stuffed in the back seat of a station wagon with my sister and brother with frugal but loving parents in the front seat. Hours spent on long highways driving through small towns before interstates were built are accurately captured with brutal reality and sarcastic humor and wit by Bryson. WARNING: If you don't have the ability to laugh at yourself you will not like this book. Bryson pokes fun at everybody, including you, whoever you are. But Bryson also pokes fun at himself. If you ever spent interminable hours staring out a car window on a cross country drive and you have a good sense of humor, then this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: There's better travel writing out there than this lazy rant
Review: Bill Bryson should be ashamed of himself. "Lost Continent" is one of the biggest rip-offs of a travel book that I have ever read. Few could argue with his conclusion that small-town America is a plastic-and-Big-Mac cultural wasteland. But his attempt to fob this book off as some sort of substantive commentary borders on fraud. He picks an easy target and follows that up with an embarassingly lazy reporting regimen which consists of driving around the country, stopping at motels for the night, and resuming this in-depth "research" this next morning. How is anyone going to get a feel for small-town America -- or anywhere, for that matter -- if the only people they interact with are gas station attendants, motel receptionists and the occasional ticket-booth person at a local tourist attraction? And he seems totally blind to his hypocrisy. In effect, he becomes what he so condescendingly condemns about small-town America, -- the junk food, slap-dash, tacky "culture", the low-value products -- by lustily wolfing down Big Macs and cranking out a shoddy book that doesn't come close to scratching the surface of his stated subject. Rather than the cultured and disgusted observer he appears to want to be seen as, Bryson's true identity is revealed with this book: fat, lazy crank. There's plenty of other thoughtful, in-depth travel writing on the market. Don't encourage Bryson's to perpetrate further scams by shelling out for this one. Dan Martin, Singapore
Rating: 
Summary: Bill Bryson does it again!
Review: This is the second book I've read of Bryson's & being from Iowa myself, understand his humor perfectly. I don't agree with all of his conclusions/assumptions of our diverse country, but it does take you on a imaginative journey. A must read for any U.S. traveller.
Rating:
Summary: American Classic
Review: Brutal humour. I have read it three times and still laugh out loud. It appears this book has hit a raw nerve in some of my more sensitive fellow Americans, but if we can't laugh at ourselves what fun is there? Relax,it's the American way. God Bless Bill Bryson
Rating:
Summary: This has to be one of the funniest books I've ever read
Review: This has to be one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's the kind of book that makes suddenly makes you burst out laughing! I reccommend it to anyone having a sense of humour failure - you'll quickly feel yourself after reading a chapter of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring travelogue from a Liberal
Review: This book is a completely uninteresting description of one mans travels through North America. Boring and self-serving, Bryson fails in his attempt to relive his childhood journeys.
Rating:
Summary: A truly wonderfully funny travel book!
Review: I think a fact that some of the US readers might have overlooked is that first and foremost Bill Bryson is a writer, an extremely funny one at that. About twenty years ago I travelled by car from the West Coast across continental USA all the way to the Eastern seaboard. Over the three months it took, I saw a dazzling array of sceneries, cultures and accents, all of which undoubtedly make the US a wonderfully fascinating place to visit. Mr Bryson may offend the sensibilities of some Americans but his portrait of small town America is savagely hilarious and often hits the target with spendid accuracy.
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