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The Lost Continent

Travels In Small Town America

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About this listen

 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 renamed 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. North America Travel Writing & Commentary United States Funny Witty Feel-Good Old West Wild West
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I won't be the first person to tell you that Bryson is smart, funny, and has absorbed British sarcasm by osmosis so seamlessly that it almost trumps us when narrated in the velvety American accent of the actor on this audiobook. Small town America is pulled apart, examined forensically by each of its cast of stock characters and institutions, and then put back together with a new-found affection by both you and the author. This book is like dismantling an old Chevy, finding that it still works, restoring it and then driving it around proudly. You'll feel both the European distaste for anything nouveau that Bryson has adopted, and the universal pull towards Americana. Brilliant.

The road trip you're dying to take

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I was excited about this as I'd enjoyed other books by Bill Bryson until I realised these books are very similar so I gave up before the end but it only cost me £1.99p so I wasn't too disappointed

I think I've listened to enough Bill Bryson

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Once again, Bill Bryson's words and William Roberts' narration take this audio book into my personal top ten. Bill's travels across America are told in his usual observant and witty style. Full of interesting facts, anecdotes and laugh-out-loud moments.

Would definitely recommend it.

Excellent combination of author and narrator

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A great book that I would never have read but having to read to me made it very entertaining indeed!

Funny dry humour

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Bryson and Roberts are the perfect combination! This travel diary is incredibly funny, witty, and honest, as it lightheartedly highlights the upsides and downsides of American small town life. I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended!!

Another classic from Bryson!

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