Bill Bryson is an American author known for his travel memoirs and writings on language and science. He grew up in Iowa, lived in England for over 20 years, and is now Chancellor of Durham University. His book A Walk in the Woods is being adapted into a film, and he has written on Australia, Europe, and small-town America. His book A Short History of Nearly Everything won awards for science writing. Despite not being a linguist, Bryson’s language books are well-regarded. He is compared to Dave Barry, Mark Twain, and James Thurber.
Bill Bryson is a well-known American author and commentator, best known for his travel memoirs. Raised in Iowa and having spent much of his adult life in England, Bryson possesses a unique perspective on American and global culture. In addition to his books based on his travels, he has written extensively on language and the history of science.
The son of a journalist father and an experienced mother, Bill Bryson grew up in Des Moines Iowa in the 1950s and 1960s, a period he chronicles in his 2006 book The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. He moved to England in 1973 after several months of traveling around Europe ending up with a job in a mental hospital in Surrey. After meeting and marrying his British wife, Bryson lived in England for more than 20 years, before returning to America with his family in the 1990s. Eventually, the family returned to the UK, where Bill Bryson continues to write as well as serving as Chancellor of Durham University and campaign chair for the protection of rural England.
Although Bill Bryson had been writing books since the mid-1980s, he really exploded onto the international non-fiction literary scene with his 1998 account of hiking the Appalachian Trail, A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. The book gained considerable literary attention in America and attracted some controversy over its depiction of the trail and the culture surrounding trail life. While humorous in nature and filled with the ironic agony of defeat, Bryson’s memoirs also provide serious insight into the state of the trail’s conservation and American ecology, as well as stark criticism of the government’s stewardship of natural environments. The book is currently being adapted into a major film, produced by and starring Robert Redford.
In addition to A Walk in the Woods, Bryson wrote travel memoirs about Australia, England, continental Europe and small-town America. Critics note her books for their wit, constant complaining, and insightful information on the history and culture of the areas he visits. Yet Bill Bryson’s writings have crossed over to a variety of other subjects, most notably in his 2003 book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, which offers a general history of science. Bryson embarked on the book to further his understanding of science, from genetics to paleontology to geology. The book was awarded the 2004 Aventis Prize for General Science and the European Union’s Descartes Prize.
While not a credited linguist, Bill Bryson also writes extensively on language and the history of words. His language books include dictionaries of hard-to-spell words, a history of English in America, and his most recent publication, Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors. Despite his lack of academic training in the field, Bryson’s language books are well received and usually regarded as extremely useful tomes for writers and word lovers.
Bill Bryson has been compared to Dave Barry, Mark Twain and James Thurber. For over 20 years, he has been a consistently successful writer with a knack for irony and satire. Whether you’re looking for a book for a globetrotter, word junkie, or amateur scientist, his books are sure to provide both useful information and the occasional dry chuckle, if not outright laugh.
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