The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island
Oct 2015 · Bryson Book 1 · Random House
4.4star
136 reviewsreport
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480
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About this ebook
WINNER: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER READER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016
WINNER: BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARD FOR BEST AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR BIOGRAPHY 2016
Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the bestselling travel book ever, and was also voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.Now, to mark the twentieth anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey round Britain to see what has changed.
Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more. Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.
Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.
WINNER: BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARD FOR BEST AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR BIOGRAPHY 2016
Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the bestselling travel book ever, and was also voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.Now, to mark the twentieth anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey round Britain to see what has changed.
Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more. Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.
Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.
Ratings and reviews
4.4
136 reviews
steve wallace
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March 29, 2017
It was a bit of a chore to read this one, as other reviews have said it's quite political and he could.es across as a grumpy git. The book is massively skewed towards the London end of the journey with Scotland getting about 4 pages right at the end. I would recommend his other book a Brief History of Almost Everything instead, or even his Australian tour book. Give this one a miss
3 people found this review helpful
Mike Tipping
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January 18, 2016
You can't class a Bryson book as 'Just OK'. If we wrote a review of a trip to the toilet it would have to score 4 stars at very least, that said however... Notes from a Small Island was an awesome book. The Road to Little Dribbling is basically a way to cash in and wring some more out of it's success. It starts with the concept that he will be traveling in a straight line from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath... he even writes a song about... then spends most of the book wandering along the south coast and round London. When he actually gets down to going north he stops at about 2 places north of Birmingham and appears to miss Scotland out all together. It's like he got carried away with the south and ran out of words or time. It is however a very enjoyable read and if you ignore the concept for the book, well worth reading
7 people found this review helpful
Mamma Kidd
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October 24, 2015
It's always good to see your country and fellow citizens through someone else's eyes. Bill Bryson manages to show us our failings good naturedly and poke us in the ribs to remind us of our achievements.
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.
Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005–2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.
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