The life and times of the thunderbolt kid : a memoir
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [269]-270).

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 funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his all-American childhood for 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 wearing a jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck, vanquishing evildoers -- in his head -- as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using his fantasy-life persona as a springboard, Bryson re-creates the life of his family in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality -- a life at once familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy.