Bill Bryson

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William "Bill" McGuire Bryson (born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling American-born author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects. He has lived for most of his adult life in the United Kingdom. On December 13, 2006 he was made an honorary OBE for his contribution to literature^[1].

Contents 1 Life 2 Bibliography 2.1 Books on travel 2.2 Books on language 2.3 Books on science 2.4 Memoir 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Life

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Bryson was educated at Drake University but dropped out in 1972 after deciding to backpack around Europe for four months. He returned to Europe the following year with his high-school friend, Stephen Katz (real name Matt Angerer^[2]). Some of his experiences from this trip are re-lived as flashbacks in Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe, which documents a similar journey Bryson made twenty years later.

In the mid-1970s, Bryson began working in a psychiatric hospital in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, where he met and married his English wife, Cynthia, a nurse. Together they returned to the USA in order for Bryson to complete his college degree, after which, in 1977, they settled in England, where they remained until 1995. Living in North Yorkshire and mainly working as a journalist, Bryson 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, three years after the birth of his third child.

In 1995, Bryson returned to live in Hanover, New Hampshire for some years, the stories of which feature in his novel I'm A Stranger Here Myself. In 2003, however, the Brysons and their four children returned to England, and now live near Wymondham, Norfolk.

Also in 2003, in conjunction with World Book Day, voters in Great Britain chose Bryson's book Notes from a Small Island as that which best sums up British identity and the state of the nation. In the same year, he was appointed a Commissioner for English Heritage.

In 2004, Bryson won the prestigious Aventis Prize for best general-science book with A Short History of Nearly Everything. This concise and popular piece of literature explores not only the histories and current statuses of the sciences, but also reveals their humble and often humorous beginnings. One "top scientist" is alleged to have jokingly described the book as "annoyingly free of mistakes". ^[3]

Bryson has also written two popular works on the history of the English language - Mother Tongue and Made in America - and, more recently, an update of his guide to usage, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words (published in its first edition as The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words in 1983). These books were popularly acclaimed and well-reviewed, though they received criticism from academics in the field, who claimed they contained factual errors, urban myths, and folk etymologies. Though Bryson has no formal linguistics qualifications, he is generally a well-regarded writer on the subject of languages.

In 2005, Bryson was appointed Chancellor of Durham University, succeeding the late Sir Peter Ustinov. He had praised Durham as "a perfect little city" in Notes from a Small Island. He has also been awarded honorary degrees by numerous universities.

In 2006, Bryson ran (as part of a celebrity relay team) in the Tresco marathon, the Scillian equivalent of the London marathon.

His most recent book project is a memoir about growing up in 1950s America entitled The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

In December 2006, Bryson was awarded an honorary OBE^[4]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Books on travel

• The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries (1985)
• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America (1989)
• Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe (1991)
• Notes from a Small Island (1995) (travels in the United Kingdom, his farewell to the country he was temporarily leaving; adapted for television by Carlton Television in 1998)

• A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (1998) (co-stars Stephen Katz)
• I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away (US) / Notes From a Big Country (UK) (1998) (columns about moving back to the USA)
• In a Sunburned Country (US) / Down Under (UK) (2000) (travels in Australia)
• Bill Bryson's African Diary (2002) (travels in Africa for CARE International, to whom all royalties and profits were donated)
• Walk About (2002) (Combined in one volume are Down Under and A Walk in the Woods)

[edit] Books on language

• The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way (1990)
• Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States (1994)
• Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words (2002)

[edit] Books on science

• A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003)

[edit] Memoir

• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir (2006) ISBN 0-385-60826-8 (UK) ISBN 0-7679-1936-X (US)

[edit] References

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6176363.stm
2. ^ http://www.itv.com/page.asp?partid=6466
3. ^ http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/profile/story/0,11109,1642405,00.html
4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6176363.stm

[edit] External links

• Official Bill Bryson Web site
• Bill Bryson - A short history of nearly everything presentation at the Royal Society
• Bill Bryson at the Internet Movie Database
• A brief excerpt from The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Preceded by: Sir Peter Ustinov

Chancellor of the University of Durham 2005–

Succeeded by: Current incumbent