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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Bryson, Bill
Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines gets mentioned quite a bit as Bryson takes us back to his childhood ... growing up in the idyllic 1950s. The first line in "The Lost Continent" is "I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to."
The Appalachian Mountains. "A Walk in the Woods" has Bryson hiking the Appalchian Trail and possibly encountering bears, snakes, moose, venomous plants and, perhaps worse of all, other hikers. We also hear about Stephen Katz who walked part of the way with Bryson.
The Lost Continent. In this book Bryson gives a candid look at the small towns of the USA where he laments on how so many of the towns appear to be the same as each other.
| "Neither Here Nor There" gives the reader a tour of Europe. From which country did Bryson view the Northern Lights? | Bill Bryson and his Books
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Norway. Bryson made the Norwegian town of Hammerhest his home for sixteen days until he finally saw the Northern Lights and described it as "the most beautiful thing I had ever seen". Despite that he was very happy to be leaving the cold winter, "I have seldom moved so quickly. I ran to the bus (and) begged them not to leave without me".
| "Notes From a BIg Country" is a book of the columns that Bryson wrote about the USA for which British newspaper? | Bill Bryson and his Books
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Mail on Sunday. The columns appeared in the "Mail on Sunday's" magazine "Night and Day" from 1996. They include such gems as "I have been thinking a lot about food lately. This is because I'm not getting any. My wife ... put me on a diet after suggesting I was beginning to look like something Richard Branson would try to get airbourne."
| What is the surname of Bryson's friend, Stephen, who travelled with him in "A Walk in the Woods" and the earlier trip to Europe in "Neither Here Nor There"? | Bill Bryson and his Books
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Katz. Stephen Katz provides many funny moments in these two books, from trying to incite rebellion to Africans in Amsterdam to being an overweight ex-alcoholic on the Appalchian Trail.
| When Bill Bryson returned to live in the USA after over ten years in England, which state did he settle his family to? | Bill Bryson and his Books
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New Hampshire. Bryson is clearly captivated by this area and especailly the couple weeks of the year at autumn when the trees burst into colour. "For a few glorious days each October, ... unquestionably the lovliest place on earth."
Australia. Everyone got this right, didn't they? "Down Under" has Bryson discovering Australia from the big cities of Sydney and Melbourne to the outback towns such as Broken Hill and Alice Springs.
Notes From a Small Island. After marrying an English woman and living in England for over ten years, Bryson decides to move back to the USA and so does one last tour of Britain to say goodbye ... and write this hilarious book.
Iowa. Bill speaks fondly on his native Iowa and his childhood days there in many of his books.
| What was the topic of articles that Bill's mother (Mary Bryson) wrote for the Des Moines (Iowa) Register? | Bill Bryson
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Home furnishings. Bill actually did write some high school wrestling articles (as well as answering phones) when he worked for the Register, part-time, at the age of 16.
| Bill's book about Australia was released in Britain as "Down Under" but by what name was the book sold in America? | Bill Bryson
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In a Sunburned Country. If you haven't read this yet, I suggest printing off a small map of Australia to use as your bookmark. Referring to it will make this hilarious book even MORE enjoyable!
| What was Bill's FIRST book to make the New York Times Best Seller list? | Bill Bryson
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A Walk in the Woods. You could make the case that Americans would only read the books about America. "But The Lost Continent" (about America also) was not a huge seller in the States. Perhaps it was because Bill was still living in England when "Lost" was released, while he had moved back to America by the time "Walk" hit the shelves.
1951. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, where he lived his early years with his father (Bill), mother (Mary) and brother (Mike).
| In America, it was called "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" What was the same book called in Great Britain? | Bill Bryson
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Notes From a Big Country. Obviously playing off his hugely popular "Notes From a Small Island" which was about Britain and not as well known in America.
| When the Brysons moved back to America ... it was Bill, his wife, and how many children? | Bill Bryson
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4. Two boys and two girls. Mentioned in many of Bill's books, the children's chance to live in America were a primary reason for moving back to America.
| In what part of England, did Bryson and his family make their home? | Bill Bryson
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North Yorkshire. Bill expressed his preference for Northern England … perhaps because a pint is cheaper up North. The Brysons settled in a 350-year-old farmhouse in a Yorkshire village of 60 people.
| When the Bryson family packed up and moved to America in the late 1990's, to which place did they move? | Bill Bryson
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Hanover, New Hampshire. In an interview in "The Mail On Sunday," Bill revealed the name of his local (pub) in Hanover. I wrote to Bill in care of that pub. Bill wrote back. Growing up following the Cubs, Bill is now an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
Drake University. Majoring in political science, he dropped out before completing a degree. Bryson came back to Iowa in 1975, to finish his degree at Drake while working as a Iowa Tribune copy editor. In 1977, with degree in hand, he returned to England to make his home.
| What was the reason for Bill's first visit to the UK in 1973? | Bill Bryson
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A backpacking expedition. He stayed for two decades.
| Where did Bill find his first job in England? | Bill Bryson
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A mental asylum. It's where he met his wife ... who also WORKED there, as a student nurse. I must stress that.
| Which newspaper did Bill NOT work for while in the UK? | Bill Bryson
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The Sun. While working as a newspaper editor, he began free-lancing with travel articles to supplement his income. Ironically, Bill still doesn't think of himself as a "travel" writer.
| Hiking on the Appalachian trail (to write "A Walk in the Woods") left Bill with a(n)(ir)rational fear of what? | Bill Bryson
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Bears. In the book, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, attempting to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin. Along the way he encounters nature, strange people and scary wildlife.
| An influence on Bill's writing ... How did Bill describe Paul Theroux? | Bill Bryson
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Too grumpy. Paul Theroux has written books called "My Other Life", "The Great Railway Bazaar" and "The Mosquito Coast". He spent time in Africa and taught in Singapore; lived with his wife and two children in London; is now divorced and spends his summers on Cape Cod.
| In "Neither Here Nor There" Bill recalls an earlier trip through Europe someone who would show up in a later book. Who? | Bill Bryson
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Stephen Katz. Bill said, "The best thing about travelling abroad with Katz was it spared the rest of America from having to spend a summer with him." But that didn't stop Bill from bringing Katz along again for "A Walk in the Woods" along the Appalachian Trail.
| Proceeds from Bill's "slender volume" (too small to be a book) called "African Diary" went to which cause? | Bill Bryson
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CARE. "Many people think that any money sent to Africa goes into the pockets of despots," writes Bryson. "If anyone ever, ever, ever tries to suggest to you that this is the case, you must poke them in the eyes with something at least as big as a snooker cue, for it just isn't so."
Sports Writer. His late father (also called Bill Bryson) was a longtime Des Moines Tribune sports writer and columnist. There is a reporter on the current sports staff at the Des Moines Register, ALSO named Bill Bryson ...must be a relative.
Cynthia Billen. One can only admire this woman. Not just for putting up with Bill, but for raising the kids on her own while Bill was off on one of his globe trekking expeditions.
Blook of Bunders. Published in 1978. It's very hard to come by a copy. So if anyone knows where I can get it ... please write.
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