The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid

s:1317:"There are many theories as to how the Thunderbolt Kid came to attain his fantastic powers, and turned the world into a dangerous place for morons. Some say that the first hints that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came from his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman. Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, 'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.' In this hilarious new memoir, he travels back to explore the kid he once was and the weird and wonderful world of 1950s America. He modestly claims that this is a book about not very much: about being small and getting much larger slowly. But, for the rest of us, it is a laugh-out-loud book that will speak volumes - especially to anyone who has ever been young. Praise for Bill Bryson: * 'Hugely funny (not snigger-snigger funny, but great-big-belly-laugh-till-you-cry funny).' - Daily Telegraph.";