I was truly disappointed by this book, especially since I had heard how funny and witty Bryson is -- perhaps his abilities are not properly highlighted in "I'm a Stranger Her Myself." I found this book to be a collection of boring complaints and meaningless commentary on mundane and oft-times wrongly portrayed aspects of supposed life in the United States. He states at one point in the book that he doesn't "understand most things." No kidding. Maybe if he knew what he was talking about, he could inject some more humor into his writing. Or maybe his wife should give writing a try...


No Stranger to Laughter   January 9, 2002
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

"Oh, what the heck? I liked 'A Walk in the Woods,' so let's see if this is any good."

That was my line of thinking as I checked out this book from my local library. On the way home, I opened the cover (akin to opening a bag of my favorite chips) and sampled a bite. And another. Soon, I was eight chapters into the thing, wiping tears from my eyes to the amusement of my wife and children. Then, the ultimate test: I read a page out loud to my wife. Now I'm not intimating that she has any laughter inhibitions--she'll laugh up a storm within the first minutes of a good comedy flick--but to subject her to oral readings is to watch her mood take a serious downswing. Must be the expectation levels I project. ("Come on, honey, don't you get it? Are you listening?")

Test results: A+

Next thing I knew, I was fighting my wife for moments to gobble down another chapter or two. No kidding. Bill Bryson, in his inimitable manner, adds punch and humor to subjects normally as tastless as...well, as week-old chips. He pinpoints the lunacies in our daily routine, the frustrations of red-tape, and the nostalgia of yesteryear. He makes me wonder why we Americans behave in such ways, then leaves me shaking my head at the idea of living anywhere else.

We're all strangers, in one way or another, in this diverse land of ours. And that's just it...it's our crazy kaleidoscope of ideas and customs that make us the colorful nation we are. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks, Bill, for helping me let off some steam so that I can fall in love with this place all over again.


It should've been called "Notes on Being Bitter and Slow"   June 26, 2000
 9 out of 18 found this review helpful

This was the first, and consequently last, Bryson book I've read. When I purchased, and subsequently returned, this book I was looking for an outsiders perspective on life in America. What I received however, was 280+ pages with analysis as deep as a sidewalk puddle. Bryson laments how he cannot understand many basic American practices (even though he never really tries to understand them). He finds it "ridiculous", for example, that American bank cards have such long ID/account numbers. After all, he reasons, his bank doesn't have a billion customers, so why do they issue ID's with digits in the billions and trillions. Such a mind boggling question and such deep analysis. Bryson apparently could not figure out that long digits are necessary to create enough random IDs so that valid IDs cannot easily be guessed. That pretty much sets the tone for the whole book. He fumbles on unable to understand even the most basic of American (or modern day) concepts, all while droning on how much better England is than America (one reason, he explains, is because the English drink more beer. Brilliant). Most would argue that this book was meant to be more humorous than intellectual (it fails on both), but it's obvious that Bryson's attempt at humor is merely a guise for his disdain at not being able to figure out America or even life in the 20th century.


Life in America, Compared to Life in Great Britain   August 3, 2000
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is unfamiliar territory for me--a collection of articles written for a British public. I was drawn into the book mainly because of Bill's sarcastic wit, and was held there by a humorous look at life in America, written by an ex-expatriot.

The book is really well done. The chapters are short, originally written as newspaper articles. Several of his chapters bordered on boring--taxes, how to assemble a computer, etc. Mostly however, they were charming, well-written, and surprisingly personal. Bryson is at his best when tackling travel, and perhaps this is no surprise as he has written several well-received travel books.

Originally I bought this book for someone else, but as I was traveling myself I began to read it, and found I could not put it down. The format lends itself very well to readers like me, who can often only read in short bursts. Finally, while Bryson's readers in Great Britain may have learned something of life in America, I also learned about life in Great Britain--what an experience at the post office is like, what renting a flat is like, and the great furniture debacle.

Honestly I very often laughed out loud, drawing curious looks from others in airports and train stations. Highly recommended.


Affectionate- he criticises because he cares!   December 25, 1999
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I am a Bill Bryson reader in England and I would like to say I have read the UK edition of this book and several other Bill Bryson titles, and I think Bill Bryson has done a lot to enhance the image of the USA in Britain, not harm it, and has increased understanding between British and American people. I think Bryson is so popular in America because British people like America so much and so are interested in his commentary of it. I am glad to see most reviews by Americans here are positive, but I think the ones which aren't are missing the real point of what Bryson is trying to do. To begin with I feel that the criticism offered of the USA can constructive, rather than just complaining for the sake of it. Bryson obviously loves America but is saddened by some aspects of it and wants to offer an alternative view of how, in his opinion, the USA could be improved even further. I find that people rarely bother to suggest improvements for countries they don't like because they don't care about them. It's only because Bryson obviously loves America that he cares enough to try and suggest ideas to improve the areas in which he feels the country has lost its way. Also a lot of the criticism is not actually comparing America unfavourably to other countries, but to America as it was before he left it- he's suggesting that some things have improved but others used to be better in the past-there's nothing anti-American about suggesting that some older American ideas and values should have been preserved. I think criticising Bryson for a "phoney accent" is a little unfair- he did live in England for almost two decades and it is well-known that people tend to pick up the speech patterns of those around them, which explains why Bryson may have a sort of American/English hybrid accent. Bryson certainly can be said to love England and be an Anglophile, but that doesn't mean he can't love America too- being patriotic does not mean you have to love your own country so much that you can't be allowed to see anything good or even better in another country, or enjoy living in another country- and remember that much as Bryson loved England, he still moved back to America to live- not something he would have done if he disliked America. This book contains much praise for America as well as criticism and I think it is balanced and fair. Bryson certainly exaggerates some of his experiences but it is obvious when he is doing it and it is just for comic effect, not to be misleading. This book has made me want to visit the USA more, not less. I would suggest US readers try and obtain copies of his excellent book "Notes from a Small Island" about Britain- they will find Bryson offers exactly the same blend of praise- AND CRITICISM!- of Britain as he does of the USA. I found his book on my country to be inspiring- certainly it was nice to read the praise but instead of feeling upset by the criticism I found myself agreeing with most of it and thinking about how Britain might change for the better. It's only through balanced criticsm a country can keep constantly re-evaluating itself and so keep cutting-edge through constant improvements. Bill Bryson is offering the USA his own opinions on how America might be improved because he genuinely loves the country- whether you agree with him or not, I think that's a statement of his confidence in the USA, not his dislike of it! Whether you come from the USA, Britain or elsewhere, buy this book- and enjoy!