I grew up in Des Moines. My dad had a house full of books, things like P.G. Wodehouse books and 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte. Bill Bryson bookbrontedad Change image and share on social
I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and I would get distracted. Oh, and I have absolutely no sense of direction at all. Bill Bryson absolutelydirectiondistract share on social
Very little of what America does is actually bad, and I don't think it ever does anything anywhere that is intentionally bad. I mean, sometimes we make mistakes and bad judgments and kind of back the wrong regimes and things, but by and large what America does is really good. Bill Bryson americabackbad share on social
The first book I did - the first successful book - was a kind of a travel book, and publishers in Britain encouraged me to do more. Bill Bryson bookbritainencourage Change image and share on social
I've been wanting to do a book about baseball for the longest time, and nobody will let me do it. It's the one thing from America I really miss. Bill Bryson americabaseballbook Change image and share on social
There is the odd exception, like Albert Einstein, but as a breed, scientists tend not be very good at presenting themselves. Bill Bryson albertbreedeinstein Change image and share on social
We forget just how painfully dim the world was before electricity. A candle, a good candle, provides barely a hundredth of the illumination of a single 100 watt light bulb. Bill Bryson barelybulbcandle Change image and share on social
If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you'll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way. Bill Bryson appreciationbeautycompletely share on social
Although I was always very happy in Britain, I never stopped thinking of America as home, in the fundamental sense of the term. It was where I came from, what I really understood, the base against which all else was measured. Bill Bryson americabasebritain share on social
I don't plan to write another science book, but I don't plan not to. I do enjoy writing histories, and taking subjects that are generally dull and trying to make them interesting. Bill Bryson bookdullenjoy Change image and share on social
