The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Author: Bill Bryson
Format: Large Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
R50.00
1 in stock
1 in stock
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950’s.
Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century – 1951 – in the middle of the United States – Des Moines, Iowa – in the middle of the largest generation in American history – the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons) – in his head—as “The Thunderbolt Kid.”
Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.
Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
Delivery Options
Build a Bundle
To save on shipping you can buy books and when you are ready, you pay for the shipping and we send all your books at once.
Paxi (Pep to Pep)
Standard Bag R60: delivery within 7 – 9 days to a Pep near you.
Pudo (Locker to Locker)
We will send your package to the nearest locker of your choice.
Aramex (Store to Door Courier)
Convenient delivery to your door.
Collection
Collect your package from our address in Montana, Pretoria.
Description of book condition:
New – Brand new and unread book.
As New – A secondhand book that can easily pass for a new one.
Very Good – Book is in great condition with only a minor blemish here and there.
Good – Book shows visible reading wear but nothing serious.
Fair – Book shows clear and more significant wear, especially on the cover, but is still solid and intact.
Worn – Book shows severe wear and tear while still being intact (commonly known as a “reading copy”). Worn books are still good perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact with none threatening to fall out.
Beskrywing van boeke se toestand:
Nuut – ‘n Nuwe, ongeleesde boek.
Soos Nuut – ‘n Tweedehandse boek wat nog maklik vir ‘n nuwe een kan deurgaan,
Baie Goed – Die boek wys minimale verweer,
Goed – Die boek wys sigbare verweer, maar niks ernstigs nie.
Redelik – Die boek wys duidelike leesverweer, veral op die omslag, maar is steeds stewig en heel.
Verweerd – Die boek wys ernstige verweer, maar is steeds heel en heeltemal leesbaar (ons noem dit ‘n “leeskopie”). Geen bladsye is los nie.
Book Formats
Paperback: Mass market paperback, roughly 180mm x 110mm
Medium Softcover: Larger paperback, roughly 200mm x 130mm
Large Softcover: also called a “Trade Paperback”, roughly 235mm x 155mm
Medium Hardcover: Hardcover book, roughly 200mm x 130mm
Large Hardcover: Hardcover book, roughly 235mm x 155mm
Related products
The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid
R50.00
Author: Bill Bryson
Format: Large Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
1 in stock
1 in stock
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950’s.
Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century – 1951 – in the middle of the United States – Des Moines, Iowa – in the middle of the largest generation in American history – the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons) – in his head—as “The Thunderbolt Kid.”
Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.
Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
Delivery Options
Build a Bundle
To save on shipping you can buy books and when you are ready, you pay for the shipping and we send all your books at once.
Paxi (Pep to Pep)
Standard Bag R60: delivery within 7 – 9 days to a Pep near you.
Pudo (Locker to Locker)
We will send your package to the nearest locker of your choice.
Aramex (Store to Door Courier)
Convenient delivery to your door.
Collection
Collect your package from our address in Montana, Pretoria.
Description of book condition:
Description of book condition:
New – Brand new and unread book.
As New – A secondhand book that can easily pass for a new one.
Very Good – Book is in great condition with only a minor blemish here and there.
Good – Book shows visible reading wear but nothing serious.
Fair – Book shows clear and more significant wear, especially on the cover, but is still solid and intact.
Worn – Book shows severe wear and tear while still being intact (commonly known as a “reading copy”). Worn books are still good perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact with none threatening to fall out.
Beskrywing van boeke se toestand:
Nuut – ‘n Nuwe, ongeleesde boek.
Soos Nuut – ‘n Tweedehandse boek wat nog maklik vir ‘n nuwe een kan deurgaan,
Baie Goed – Die boek wys minimale verweer,
Goed – Die boek wys sigbare verweer, maar niks ernstigs nie.
Redelik – Die boek wys duidelike leesverweer, veral op die omslag, maar is steeds stewig en heel.
Verweerd – Die boek wys ernstige verweer, maar is steeds heel en heeltemal leesbaar (ons noem dit ‘n “leeskopie”). Geen bladsye is los nie.
Book Formats
Paperback: Mass market paperback, roughly 180mm x 110mm
Medium Softcover: Larger paperback, roughly 200mm x 130mm
Large Softcover: also called a “Trade Paperback”, roughly 235mm x 155mm
Medium Hardcover: Hardcover book, roughly 200mm x 130mm
Large Hardcover: Hardcover book, roughly 235mm x 155mm