Notes From a Small Island

Listen to a sample

Items couldn't be added

Sorry, we can't add the item as your basket has reached its capacity.

The title couldn't be added to your basket.

Please try again later.

Couldn't add title to Wish List

Please try again later.

‘Remove from Wish List’ failed

Please try again later.

Adding to library failed

Please try again

‘Follow podcast’ failed

‘Unfollow podcast’ failed

Get 30 days of Standard free

€6.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.

Try for €0.00

More purchase options

Notes From a Small Island

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: William Roberts

Try for €0.00

€6.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for €18.94

Season's Savings | 0.99 €/mo for 3 months

6.99 €/month thereafter - terms apply. Cancel monthly.

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such best sellers as The Mother Tongue and Made in America, decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland, and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells. With wit and irreverence, Bill Bryson presents the ludicrous and the endearing in equal measure. The result is a social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain.©1995 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Bill BrysonWilliam RobertsAudible Studios

Europe

Travel Writing & Commentary

Europe Travel Writing & Commentary

Most relevant

....which is to give one the idea what it was like to be in the UK 20 odd years ago!
I recall reading the actual 1st edition and loving it. I was foreign to the UK myself, in my early 20s and I thought so many things were very apt. Now re-reading (listening to it) years later and as an adult I am not so convinced about it, but I still recomend it as a good starter pack to life in Britain. It has to be followed by the sequel The Road to Little Dribbling, as the Britain that BB describes here, is definitely long gone!

It does what it's supposed to ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Having lived in the UK around the same time as the author, I related so much to his accounts of life in Britian. I went down memory lane with him and loved every minute of it. Never has a long commute to work been so enjoyable, never have I shed tears of laughter whilst driving to work - it was wonderful.
I recommend this book to any anglophile person and all those who have lived in England - it will bring back memories, smiles, some regrets and the resolution to return and visit this great country.