The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

A Memoir

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Bill Bryson

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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 best and funniest writers alive, his is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat 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 in an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons) in his head as "The Thunderbolt Kid".

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.

©2006 Bill Bryson (P)2006 Random House, inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This affectionate portrait wistfully recalls the bygone days of Burns and Allen and downtown department stores, but with a good-natured elbow poke to the ribs." (Booklist)

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.

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!

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.