The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain: Bill Bryson: 9780804172714: Amazon.com: Books
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See this imageThe Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain Paperback – October 25, 2016
by Bill Bryson (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 1,446 customer reviews
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Wonderfully engaging. . . . Bryson is a keen observer of what’s amusing, ironic and absurd.” —USA Today
“Riveting. . . . Bryson is a master. . . . Almost as satisfying as being there yourself.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Bryson is a jovial companion and his typically funny self.” —Chicago Tribune
“A cheeky romp through Britain’s heart . . . affectionately celebrates, and devilishly skewers.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Such a pleasure to once again travel the lanes and walking paths of Britain in the company of Bill Bryson! . . . It’s a rare book that will make me laugh out loud. This one did, over and over.” —Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City
“Genuinely hilarious. . . . At Bryson’s age, he can (and does) feel entitled not only to be done with such ugliness, but also to express his displeasure in ways most of us only dream of daring to do. And when he sees beauty and wonder in the world, he is rhapsodic—even evangelical.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Bryson’s capacity for wonder at the beauty of his adopted homeland seems to have only grown with time.” —The Washington Post
“Charming. . . . Traveling with Bryson is fun because he never sugarcoats the hassles, the overpriced crummy food that runs abundant in touristy places—and the absolute delight of finding unexpected sights or happenstance meetings. . . . Here’s hoping Bryson remains cranky and curious for many years to come.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“Bryson is an entertaining travel companion. . . . He writes lyrically on the monuments at Stonehenge and Avebury. He is great on the joy of walking through the English countryside.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A gloriously funny read. . . . Bryson has no equal.” —Daily Express
“A funny and pleasant travelogue. Bryson can capture a place memorably with just a sharp phrase or two. . . . Wry and winning.” —NPR
“A prolonged and hilarious love letter describing Mr. Bryson’s 40-year relationship with his adoptive country. . . . A joyous tribute to British patience, stoicism, sense of fairness. . . . Generous, funny, modest and admirable . . . packed with great writing.” —The Washington Times
“Fascinating. . . . A worthy successor and sequel to his classic Notes From A Small Island. . . . You could hardly ask for a better guide to Great Britain than Bill Bryson.” —The Miami Herald
“The history of a love affair, the very special relationship between Bryson and Britain. We remain lucky to have him.” —Financial Times
“Is it the funniest travel book I’ve read all year? Of course it is.” —Michael Kerr, The Daily Telegraph (London)
“Everybody loves Bill Bryson. . . . He’s clever, witty, entertaining, a great companion . . . his research is on show here, producing insight, wisdom and startling nuggets of information.” —The Independent on Sunday
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About the Author
Bill Bryson’s bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods (now a major motion picture starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte), Notes from a Small Island, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, A Short History of Nearly Everything (which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize), The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, At Home, and One Summer. He lives in England with his wife.
www.billbrysonbooks.comSee all Editorial Reviews
Product details
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Anchor; Reprint edition (October 25, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0804172714
ISBN-13: 978-0804172714
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
› Visit Amazon's Bill Bryson Page
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Biography
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. For twenty years he lived in England, where he worked for the Times and the Independent, and wrote for most major British and American publications. His books include travel memoirs (Neither Here Nor There; The Lost Continent; Notes from a Small Island) and books on language (The Mother Tongue; Made in America). His account of his attempts to walk the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods, was a huge New York Times bestseller. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his wife and his four children.
Amazon Author Rankbeta (What's this?)
#21 in Books > History
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Top customer reviews
TerryR
3.0 out of 5 starsI feel like I am committing a heresy but I've thought about ...September 22, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
By giving Bill Bryson 3 stars, I feel like I am committing a heresy but I've thought about it long and hard and 3 stars is all this book warrants. I love Bill Bryson's writing, especially his travel writing, but this book is just not up to his standard. It feels like it was thrown together simply as a money-making exercise. There is no underlying thread to the book, there is no journey. It's a series of day trips to places he would have been going to anyway. The underlying theme is supposed to be the "Bryson line" but he barely refers to it after the first few pages and the only places he really visits along the line are the two ends. Most of the other places are nowhere near the line. He also includes a lot of material from other books, either it was in the book or it was stuff he had left over after finishing the book. I'm sorry Bill, you can do (and have done) better than this.
22 people found this helpful
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James B. Garrison
3.0 out of 5 starsA Grumpy Old ManFebruary 28, 2016
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A very good opening and close were largely out of synch with the rest of the tone of the book. I have read and enjoyed many of the author's books beginning with Notes From a Small Island which I purchased at a small independent bookstore in Manchester England. Time has not mellowed the author, I did not find him to be a "playful curmudgeon" but rather too often being a grumpy old man. I also thought that someone who has so much respect for the English language could find other ways to voice displeasure rather than curse words and foul language. It's unfortunate that so many interesting observations about his adopted home have to be tainted in this way. It makes his apparent affection for the place expressed in the last few pages less believable, or maybe understandable.
18 people found this helpful
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Avid reader
2.0 out of 5 starsVirtues and drawbacksApril 7, 2017
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On the one hand he is a very funny and entertaining writer; no one can make me laugh out loud while reading the way he can. Also, he is so compelling in his praise and vivid in his descriptions; I really want to visit the places about which he writes.
On the other hand, the angry old man stuff gets tiring. His liberal use of the word "idiot" evidences a real inner anger he ought to get under control. A poor government worker just doing their job by enforcing a rule isn't just wrong in Bill's eyes; he is an idiot...some lower being to be scorned for doing his job. It is an attitude the author has, and it is both tiring and troubling.
I finally figured it out, though. I love travel because of the people on the way that I meet. Bill loves travel despite the people on the way that he meets.
11 people found this helpful
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JOHN M.
2.0 out of 5 starsSurprisingly, not a fan of this one.January 11, 2017
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I've greatly enjoyed many of Bill Bryson's prior works, but this one left me concerned about the drift to curmudgeonly thinking from focusing on what he doesn't like more than what is likable.
Also, often politics enters many of Bill's books but never to this extent. The section on immigration Bill, sadly, embraced a straw man argument to stake out a position no one disagrees with.
Being a logical person myself, seeing this descent into the illogical abyss left me wishing I had read a different book.
Still, it's got 2 stars because there was a lot of interesting information. I've made 6 trips to the UK and I was often taking a new tidbit of info Bill exposed then looking up more information.
My wife is determined to see the Ridley Mounds described in the books. I wonder what future generation will completely misinterpret the structure. This begs the question of how much guessing do we do looking at the many ancient structures. Was it really a super religious site, or someone's fanciful whim, or something in between.
I just found it hard to enjoy the fun information combined with the straw man arguments pushing a liberal perspective yet at the same time bashing the actions of liberal government.
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12 people found this helpful
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Mr. Joe
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Bryson Line makes its debut on the world mapJune 17, 2017
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Bryson Line definition: As drawn on a map of Great Britain by author Bill Bryson, the Bryson Line connects the two furthest apart points on the island measured north to south in a straight line and which are Cape Wrath and Bognor Regis respectively.
Bill Bryson loves the island of Great Britain as much as I do, as he gave evidence years ago when he published Notes from a Small Island. Since then, I’ve read pretty much everything he’s written and regard him as one of my very favorite writers.
Here, after his publisher suggests that Bill do a sequel to NOTES, the author embarks on the road trip, very loosely following the Bryson Line south to north, that culminates in THE ROAD TO LITTLE DRIBBLING.
Now in his mid-sixties, it’s obvious that Ol’ Bill is turning into a querulous curmudgeon. But, at 68, so am I. However, the proof of the pudding is that England and Great Britain survived this acid test of his fussy inspection. That, to me, is evidence that the country(side) I’ve loved for years has endured since I’ve been away. Bryson writes in THE ROAD TO LITTLE DRIBBLING:
“Nothing – and I mean really, absolutely nothing – is more extraordinary in Britain than the beauty of the countryside. Nowhere in the world is there a landscape that has been more intensively utilized ‒ more mined, farmed, quarried, covered with cities and clanging factories, threaded with motorways and rail-road tracks ‒ and yet remains so comprehensively and reliably lovely over most of its extent. It is the happiest accident in history.”
“Now I am not saying that London is the world’s best city because it had a homosexual brothel scandal or because Virginia Woolf and L. Ron Hubbard around the corner, or anything like that. I am just saying that London is layered with history and full of secret corners in a way that no other city can touch. And it has pubs and lots of trees and is often quite lovely. You can’t beat that.”
“… I thought that when England is lovely there isn’t any place I would rather be.”
Yes. Oh, yes.
With this latest book, I nevertheless must take issue with the author’s narrative on two points and would reduce the stars awarded to four and a half if the rating system allowed.
Within the text for the first time I can recall, Bill reveals his political orientation. For a writer who does not pen politically themed books and appeals to a wide range of readers, this seems pointlessly provocative with the potential of alienating many. Indeed, this looks downright stupid on his part.
Secondly, Bryson uses the F-word on several occasions when expressing his opinion (as opposed to when quoting someone else). Mind you, I’m not offended, just puzzled. While the word often appears in novels and might appear in a heated political essay, for Bill to apparently find it necessary to use it pretty much unnecessarily perhaps indicates mental regression. At 65, Bill, are you now becoming fifteen again? It’s sad that an otherwise master of the language is reduced to gutter talk. I’m just saying.
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