-
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
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Publisher's summary
Using this persona as a springboard, Bryson recreates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality, at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. 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 an audiobook as Bill Bryson has ever recorded. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
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Welcome to the childhood of Catherine McClure Gildiner. It is the middle of the 1950s in Lewiston, New York, a small and sleepy American town very near Niagara Falls. No one is divorced. Mothers wear high heels to the beauty salon and children pop Pez candy and swing from vines over a local gorge. But at the tender age of four, it becomes clear to her Cathy's parents that their rambunctious daughter is no ordinary child and they soon put her "to work" at her father's pharmacy.
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Brilliant and funny and touching.
- By Kindle Customer on 11-07-19
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There's Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say
- By: Paula Poundstone
- Narrated by: Paula Poundstone
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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What do the lives of Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures have in common with Paula Poundstone? In the hands of this wryly observant and self-deprecating comedian, the answer is outrageously funny and unexpectedly touching. Poundstone compares her crazy life to theirs, as she holds forth on her children, her career, and the time in her life when it appeared she would lose them both.
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More!
- By Evelyn on 02-11-07
By: Paula Poundstone
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Learning to Die in Miami
- Confessions of a Refugee Boy
- By: Carlos Eire
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Carlos Eire's story of a boyhood uprooted by the Cuban Revolution quickly lures us in, as eleven-year-old Carlos and his older brother Tony touch down in the sun-dappled Miami of 1962 - a place of daunting abundance where his old Cuban self must die to make way for a new, American self waiting to be born. In this enchanting new work, narrated in Eire's inimitable and lyrical voice, young Carlos adjusts to life in his new country.
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Excellent memoir of a forgotten time in history
- By BRB on 03-23-15
By: Carlos Eire
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What's So Funny?
- My Hilarious Life
- By: Tim Conway, Jane Scovell, Carol Burnett - foreword
- Narrated by: Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, Dick Hill, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Six-time Emmy Award-winning funnyman Tim Conway, best known for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian. In television history, few entertainers have captured as many hearts and made as many people laugh as Tim Conway. There's nothing in the world that Tim Conway would rather do than entertain - and in his first-ever memoir, What's So Funny?, that's exactly what he does.
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Not narrated by Tim
- By Bob Murdock on 05-05-14
By: Tim Conway, and others
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Once Upon a Town
- The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen
- By: Bob Greene
- Narrated by: Fritz Weaver
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains, en route to Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen, a place where soldiers could enjoy coffee, music, home-cooked food, magazines, and friendly conversation during a stopover that lasted only a few minutes.
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Long Tale of a Truly Inspiring Short Tale
- By Suzy on 02-25-11
By: Bob Greene
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The Astronaut Wives Club
- A True Story
- By: Lily Koppel
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. Together with the other wives they formed the Astronaut Wives Club, meeting regularly to provide support and friendship. As their celebrity rose - and as divorce and tragic death began to touch their lives - they continued to rally together, and the wives have now been friends for more than fifty years.
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Sea of Tranquility Ocean of Storms
- By Cynthia on 06-15-13
By: Lily Koppel
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The One-in-a-Million Boy
- By: Monica Wood
- Narrated by: Chris Ciulla
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice-ex-wife Belle and their odd, Guinness records-obsessed son. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for one of his son's unfinished Boy Scout badges. For seven Saturdays Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the spry 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly.
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Loved it
- By Justin on 10-20-16
By: Monica Wood
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The Visiting Privilege
- New and Collected Stories
- By: Joy Williams
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Emily Woo Zeller, Elisabeth Rodgers, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Joy Williams has been celebrated as a master of the short story for four decades, her renown passing from one generation to the next even in the shifting landscape of contemporary writing. And at long last the incredible scope of her singular achievement is put on display: 33 stories drawn from three much-lauded collections and another 13 appearing here for the first time in book form.
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I sure tried.
- By A.C. CALLOWAY on 01-28-24
By: Joy Williams
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Sunny's Nights
- Lost and Found at the Bar at the End of the World
- By: Tim Sultan
- Narrated by: Robert Malloch
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Imagine that Alice had walked into a bar instead of falling down the rabbit hole. In the tradition of J. R. Moehringer’s The Tender Bar and the classic reportage of Joseph Mitchell, here is an indelible portrait of what is quite possibly the greatest bar in the world—and the mercurial, magnificent man behind it. The first time he saw Sunny’s Bar, in 1995, Tim Sultan was lost, thirsty for a drink, and intrigued by the single bar sign among the forlorn warehouses lining the Brooklyn waterfront.
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Visiting an Era
- By Carolyn on 03-01-16
By: Tim Sultan
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Get Out of Your Own Way
- How to Overcome Any Obstacle in Your Life
- By: Larry Winget
- Narrated by: Larry Winget
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
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You think you know what you want in life. You've tried to achieve those things. But if you still don't have them, the culprit may be closer than you think. In this perspective-altering program, the world-renowned Pitbull of Personal Development(tm), Larry Winget, exposes the things you are doing right now to unknowingly prevent your own success in the most important areas of your life.
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Was just OK
- By KatieReviewsStuff on 01-30-17
By: Larry Winget
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Written by Bryson's evil twin
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Laugh out loud funny
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Hardly anyone ever leaves Des Moines, Iowa. But Bill Bryson did, and after 10 years in England he decided to go home, to a foreign country. In an ageing Chevrolet Chevette, he drove nearly 14,000 miles through 38 states to compile this hilarious and perceptive state-of-the-nation report on small-town America.
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Laugh out loud funny
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Crackin' yarn, lad!
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Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
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How strange! Not as recently written as described.
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After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children. They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, 24-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item. Delivering the brilliant comic musings that are a Bryson hallmark, I'm a Stranger Here Myself recounts his sometimes disconcerting reunion with the land of his birth.
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Enjoyable
- By Cather on 12-22-06
By: Bill Bryson
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The Secret History of Christmas
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Christmas is the single biggest annual event on the planet, a time for merry-making, over-indulgence, peace, goodwill, and the occasional family row. It’s as comfortable and familiar as a pair of old shoes and yet still glittery and exciting. But what do you really know about it? It’s stuffed full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives without having the slightest idea of where they come from.
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Fascinating and Entertaining
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Authentic Bryson, but that might be the problem
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With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
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More satire than history
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A Walk in the Woods
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The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America - majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way - and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
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Informational
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Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
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Another great Bryson
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William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
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Too Little, Too Short
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By: Bill Bryson
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Icons of England
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This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies.
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Think twice if you're expecting a Bryson book...
- By Aaron J. Harris on 12-14-20
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The Body
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Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body - how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted."
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Must Read for the Sheer Fun of It
- By J.B. on 10-16-19
By: Bill Bryson
What listeners say about The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Ruth
- 06-23-09
Bryson at his best
The only thing better than reading Bill Bryson is listening to Bill Bryson read. His blend of Midwestern and English accent is soothing on the ears and his humor is irreverent and delightful.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Eva
- 08-16-09
Very, vary funny!!!! Very very true!!!
I have been a big fan of Bill Bryson but this book is his best! He had me Laughing the entire book. I grew up in the sixties but alot of the things he talked about related to me too. It brought back many of my child hood memories. Hes right too. Things were so inicent then.They will never be the same. I agree with him that the food wasn't too great either! No matter whose mother was cooking it! I can't beleive I loved TV dinners then! Bryson is my super hero auther!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Judith
- 02-06-12
Laugh Out Loud
Would you consider the audio edition of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid to be better than the print version?
Not better- just different!
What other book might you compare The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid to and why?
None- this book is hilarious!
Have you listened to any of Bill Bryson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes- all are excellent- this one is the funniest.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Many moving moments- if by moving you mean over the top funny.
Any additional comments?
GET THIS BOOK- it will lift your spirits- especially if you are a
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- Ontario
- 09-19-16
Heartfelt childhood memoir of growing up in America
Read by author- low, soft, understated- moves it from humour to comedy.Reading his own work is key to the success of his books in audio form.
Stories of wonder and good natured fun, vignettes used as a springboard for further discussion about that time in history. Beautiful language, offering the listener robust images of the 50s and 60s in the US.
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Overall
- Hans Bleeker
- 03-05-08
born before 1955 listen to this at your own risk
There are parts of this story that caused me to pull over to the side of the road for fear of peeing my pants as I drove with tears in my eyes from the laughter. While I admit to being a little crazy, you must catch the expression on the other drivers stuck in traffic with you as you laugh out loud, I know some thought I had lost my mind.
I am a big Bryson fan, I think this is the funniest book of the ones I have read. Strongly recommend this book!
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- AvidReader
- 08-09-19
Wonderful, hilarious, insightful walk down memory lane
And you get an interview with Bill Bryson at the end! Very enjoyable book. This is my second reading-first time listening-and it was even funnier the second time.
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- Janet C. McLaughlin
- 01-05-19
Warm and impossibly funny.
Written and read by the author about the time in our history when kids were not the most important beings in a household. Simpler days when all you really had to do was be on time for dinner. Hilarious!
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- Bonnie T
- 06-09-19
Enjoyable but easy to put down...
Narrator was excellent. Enjoyable reading with lots of laughs. With that, the book was easy to put down and I didn't find a strong desire to return to it.
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Overall
- Bertram
- 02-15-07
Laugh out Loud
Loved listening to this book - Bill Bryson is able to catch the essence of childhood. I laughed out loud. Everyone would love this book who can recall what it was like to be a kid growing up the 1950's.I could listen to it all over again.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Tim
- 12-02-20
Dark Humor
I’ve been a fan of Bill Bryson for a long time and I have been trying to get through his titles whenever I need a good laugh and random information. With the year that we are having with Covid, a good laugh is being harder to come by. “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” is one of the funniest books that I’ve read because I didn’t know that it was Bill Bryson’s actual life story.
His dark humor about what it was like to grow up in the 1950’s through acting like a superhero wearing a cape and parading around the house is every childhood’s fantasy. It’s more than about his life. He shapes his life story on what it was like to grow up in a small town and how it eventually disappeared through time because of monopoly.
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