- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: HarperPerennial; Reprint edition (30 Sep 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060920084
- ISBN-13: 978-0060920081
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,183,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. The Lost Continent is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth (he should know better), the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook.
With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colourful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. Gentler elements aside, The Lost Continent is an amusing book. Here's Bryson on the women of his native state: "I will say this, however--and it's a strange, strange thing--the teenaged daughters of these fat women are always utterly delectable ... I don't know what it is that happens to them, but it must be awful to marry one of those nubile cuties knowing that there is a time bomb ticking away in her that will at some unknown date make her bloat out into something huge and grotesque, presumably all of a sudden and without much notice, like a self- inflating raft from which the pin has been yanked."
Yes, Bill, but be honest: what do you really think? --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Bryson is one of the funniest travel writers in the business." --"The Globe and Mail
" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I come from Des Moines. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I come from Des Moines. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book started a complete new genre of travel writing.
It appeared on the bookshelves unannounced some time ago.
It slowly began to gain momentum for Bryson purely on the strength of the quality writing and it's apparent new style.
It became a massive seller, as have many of his subsequent books.
Before Bryson travel books were DULL and polarised.
Byson took the shine off the glossy travel books and created a new type of writing - maybe REALITY travel writing?!
For those of you who went on cheap holidays, and visited poor `attractions` as a kid, this re-lives it all.
It's about America, but there are so many similarities in the UK. When something is c**p he tells it like it is; when it's quality, he also gives praise.
Brysons offerings since have been variable - now he knows he has an audience to please.
Many writers have tried to follow him; some more successful than others. Don't forget Bryson was there first.
It appeared on the bookshelves unannounced some time ago.
It slowly began to gain momentum for Bryson purely on the strength of the quality writing and it's apparent new style.
It became a massive seller, as have many of his subsequent books.
Before Bryson travel books were DULL and polarised.
Byson took the shine off the glossy travel books and created a new type of writing - maybe REALITY travel writing?!
For those of you who went on cheap holidays, and visited poor `attractions` as a kid, this re-lives it all.
It's about America, but there are so many similarities in the UK. When something is c**p he tells it like it is; when it's quality, he also gives praise.
Brysons offerings since have been variable - now he knows he has an audience to please.
Many writers have tried to follow him; some more successful than others. Don't forget Bryson was there first.
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first book by Bill Bryson I read was "A walk in the woods", and I could not imagine any book to be funnier and wittier. Then, one day, I saw "The lost continent", bought it, read it - and had to change my opinion. In this book, Iowa-born writer Bryson, who has moved to Great Britain some years ago, becomes homesick, borrows his mother's rusty car and makes a journey across small-town America. It was great fun reading and enjoying all those acerbic commentaries about everyday life in the U.S. On his journey, Bryson has to deal with lots of displeasant accidents - unfriendly waitresses, weird (and warty) gas station attendants, bad hotel rooms, ugly shopping malls everywhere, mentally retarded radio dj's (who are fond of playing "Hotel California" by the Eagles every ten minutes) and so on. His travel leads him to Cape Cod, the Grand Canyon and the Great Lakes, and there are lots of funny depictions of life in those places as well as worried remarks about fast-food culture throughout the U.S. You really can feel Bryson's affection for his home country, and that's why this book is so entertaining.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Library Binding
I like Bill Bryson. For me, he has the greatest wit of any travel writer.
The Lost Continent is a very entertaining book anyway, but Kerry Shale brings the characters Bill meets to life. Take the Mississippi policeman Bill meets at some traffic lights. 'Yawwwwwwwwnnnn vaycayshun...? How'd'y'laaaaak Misuppy?' the cop asks. Bill has to ask him three times to repeat himself because he simply doesn't understand the outsize drawl the man has. Finally, he thanks the cop profusely for his patience and drives off, pondering the wisdom of giving such dangerously stupid people a gun and squad car...
Alongside these straightforward amusing vignettes, he does still make a lot of interesting observations about small-town America. He even lets on some of his secrets for saving money. When visiting Historic Williamsburg, don't drive up the main driveway cos that'll only cost money. Just drive round the back and you can get in for free...
Packed full of humour, observations and tips, this is ideal for listening to in the car, especially with Kerry Shale's inimitable voice. You'll find yourself imitating some of his best lines to yourself, and wondering how on earth they sound so much funnier when he says them!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The template of his success
This is Bill Bryson's first travel book and it also became a kind of template for the travel books
that followed it. Read more
that followed it. Read more
Published 20 days ago by L. Andrews
A Rattling Good Read
Bryson's take on small town America is highly entertaining and helps explains a lot about attitudes and values in the United States.
Published 4 months ago by London Consumer
still funny after all these years
I am re-reading this book after 20 years and it is just as funny as the first time. This is the book that made Bryson's reputation and it is easy to see why. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Neil Carmichael
Travel's In Small Town America
Being a keen reader of Bill Bryson's books 'The Lost Continent' was one of his books I have probably picked up least often which is such a shame! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Andrew Whitby
Lost Continent? Lost on me!
Having read Notes on A Small Island, I was much looking forward to reading this, expecting the usual wit and perceptive observations Bryson is so renowned for. Read more
Published 12 months ago by G. D. Postle
Hilarious!
Having become a complete Bryson-head a number of years ago, I was not disappointed with this instalment from the great writer. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ross
Repetitive
I normally enjoy reading Bryson's books but this one is so bad I couldn't finish it. The novelty and humour of calling the towns he visits apt nicknames like Dullard, Dog Water or... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tomasz Stasinski
READABLE
I enjoyed this book, as it is really funny in parts. There is a lot of interesting information thrown in for good measure. The only complaint I have is the language. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Locky
Bill Bryson at his best
This is a wonderful book and I know I'll come back and read it again and again. Bill Bryson is superb when he writes like this and it's a pleasure to read
Published 15 months ago by Jimser10
Oh dear....
I gave a copy of this book to an American acquaintance who had done me a favour, thinking he would share Bryson's sense of humour about his own country. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Haughtonomous
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