Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson (born 1951) is an author of humorous books on travel as well as no less humorous, though heavily-criticized books on the English language. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, He was educated at Drake University[?] but dropped out in August 1973 while on holiday in England and began working in a mental asylum[?]. Here he met his English wife, who was a nurse in the asylum, and they settled in England in 1977, remaining there through most of the 1980s. Living in North Yorkshire and mainly working as a journalist, he eventually became chief copy editor[?] of the business section of The Times and then deputy national news editor of the business section of The Independent. He left journalism in 1987. He has returned to the United States and lives in Hanover, New Hampshire.

In 2003, in conjunction with World Book Day[?], voters in England chose Bryson's book Notes From a Small Island[?] as the book that best sums up England's identity and the state of the nation.

Bryson has written two works on the history of the English language, Mother Tongue and Made In America. However, these books have been criticized for their abundance of factual errors, urban myths, and folk etymologies. While Bryson is passionate about languages, he holds no degree in linguistics.

Table of contents 1 List of works 1.1 Books on travel 2 Books on language 3 External links

List of works

Books on travel

• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
• Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (1993)
• Notes from a Small Island (1995) (travels in the United Kingdom, adapted for television by Carlton TV in 1998)
• A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (1997)
• I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away (US Edition) / Notes From a Big Country (UK Edition) (1998, columns about moving back to the USA)
• In a Sunburned Country (US edition) / Down Under (UK edition) (2000, travels in Australia)
• Bizarre World

Books on language

• Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way (1989)
• Made in America: an Informal History of the English Language in the United States (1994)
• Troublesome Words (English language usage guide for writers)

External links

• Official Bill Bryson Web site (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/billbryson/home)