The Lost Continent

Travels In Small Town America

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: William Roberts

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

From the Deep South to the Wild West, from Elvis' birthplace through to Custer's Last Stand, Bryson visits places he re-named Dullard, Coma, and Doldrum (so the residents don't sue or come after him with baseball bats). But his hopes of finding the American dream end in a nightmare of greed, ignorance, and pollution. This is a wickedly witty and savagely funny assessment of a country lost to itself, and to him.

©1989 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

One of Bryson's better books.

The author and narrator were great. Much credit to both who made this book very enjoyable on a roadtrip myself.

Ok, I guess

I love Bill Bryson. I listen to everything he's written, as much as I can when he narrates himself. This book, however, took me by surprise. Not in a good way. It was too outdated for my taste. Even put in context, some of his observations were very...outdated. Sadly. I wish I liked it more.

There are better Bill Bryson audiobooks

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Have the older, kinder Bill Bryson go back in time and take this journey. While some of his commentary was both hilarious and heartwarming, like many other reviewers, I was startled at how mean-spirited this book could be in comparison to Bryson's later works. He is comparatively positive about Iowa and the Midwest, as he waxes nostalgic about his childhood in Des Moines (and as an Iowan myself, I both confirm his assessment of our state and breathe a sigh of relief that his memories were good ones!) His commentary on other regions, particularly the South and Appalachia, was gratingly negative. Perhaps he was still in the process of finding his comedic voice, but I often found myself sympathizing with the unassuming and often kind people he was lampooning. The reader choice did not help matters any.

What other book might you compare The Lost Continent to and why?

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe.

What didn’t you like about William Roberts’s performance?

This is Bryson at his most...curmudgeonly...and William Roberts was perhaps not the best narrator for this task. My first encounter with this book was of the dead trees variety; I noticed the negative tone then, but Roberts seemed to draw it out in the worst way, making the narrator seem even more smug, arrogant and rude, when Bryson's voice tends to be more self-deprecating and light-hearted. The advantage of this version is that it is unabridged; perhaps I was better off with my old beaten-up paperback, read in my head with Bryson's less irritating voice.

Was The Lost Continent worth the listening time?

If you are a Bryson fan, perhaps try to find a version that he reads himself.

On the whole, I would still recommend the book, but not as an introduction to Bill Bryson if you haven't read any of his stuff before. He's less of a jerk in his later books, so if you've read Neither Here nor There, A Walk in the Woods, or Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, you'll approach The Lost Continent in a more forgiving mood. This is his first major book, and he's still honing his voice.

It's also worth listening to simply because you can see the connections between his travels and topics that he covers in his later works, for instance, his near-visit to the Biltmore Mansion vis-a-vis his lengthy treatment of the Vanderbilt family in At Home: A History of Private Life. Don't expect that level of research in this book--this is primarily a travelogue--but it is interesting to get a glimpse of the context behind some of his more recent nonfiction books.

Hilarious, if you have a sense of humor

Loved it, but if you can't laugh at yourself (or where you're from) probably not for you.

An excellent listen on a road trip of your own

My sister and I listened to this as we traversed the US over 40 days in the summer of 2015, traveling through 29 states. Bryson's recount of his own journey as a prodical son returned made for a fascinating and enthralling listen, the juxtaposition against our own virgin adventure in the USA resulted in some moments of sureal familiarity with places he had visited which we found ourselves in. I would highly recommend this audio book to anyone contemplating a trip across the US, or anyone who would like to illicit some nostalgia for one they have taken in the past.

PC hodgepodge

A PC antiqued hodgepodge. Life is too short to waste your time listening to this.

Not the Bill Bryson I like

Only negative things to say about people and places. I quit listening with 6 hours to go.

This author has a weird fixation

Can anyone explain to me what Bryson's fixation with peoples' weight is all about? Geez!

He is a great storyteller, His geographical descriptions are spot-on and make you feel like you are right there. Yes, he has some snark going here, but overall he tells a great story and his details are so vivid. Except when he is describing people. Almost everyone he deigns to describe is summarily dismissed as fat. Chubby. Plump. Overeater. Obese. You get the idea. Beyond his running comments about waitresses with beehive hairdos, almost all his other descriptions of people are one dimensional cracks about their weight. Not only is this rude and not at all descriptive, it is just plain lazy writing. I was so annoyed. I wanted to know more about the people he encountered than just their waist size.

I loved some of the geographical snark. I've lived in Carbondale Illinois, and he was spot-on about it being the most nothing place there is. I've visited many of the other eastern locations, and loved some of what he loved, and disliked some of what he disliked. It was fun to hear places I know come up in narration. Did he ever find that perfect town? He came close a couple of times.

However, If I had a dollar for every time he mentioned someone's weight in that nasty turn of phrase, well, I'd buy out a Dunkin Donuts and eat my fill.

Excited then disappointed

I will admit I have never read a Bill Bryson book, but I have listened to all that he had out there, 2 and 3 times. I was excited to see Audible get a title I didn’t have. An earlier book, about the USA! Perhaps a detailed around the country like he did for Australia ?

But alas no, so 50% of the book is just him trashing areas and states. I will give you the readers digest version. He hates southerners, republicans, and baptists. Has shared his strange fascination with bee hive hair and toilet seat sanitized markers. I made it thru but won’t listen to it again. Oh well, a rare miss.

So glad his style improved. Shame he didn’t wait to write this one later on.

Loved it

Cleverly written. Classic blend of Bryson interest and sarcastic humor. Very enlightening; would most certainly recommend it.