08
Bill Bryson recalls his childhood in ‘One Summer: America 1927’. Although American, he lived in England for quite some time and this lead to him writing in a very British style, particularly his use of comedy. The reason he specifically picked 1927 for his book to 'take place in', if you will, is unclear at the beginning, but as you read on it is very clear that, (to quote Bill Bryson himself), "this was one hell of a year."
The year contains: record breaking home runs in a baseball season dominated by Babe Ruth, the rise and fall of a Henry Ford rubber plantation/hotel in Brazil, the rebirth of boxing with a legendary fight, the first flight across the Atlantic by a trained young man, plans beginning the construction of Mount Rushmore, president Coolidge deciding not to run for president in 1928 (the following year), and so much more. So, to include any more, would reduce this review into an unbearably long piece of writing, with more commas than all of The Lord of The Rings books combined!
Bill Bryson has a great way of putting across facts and his point of view. The way it is written gives you flexibility to agree/disagree, like you are having a face to face conversation with him. You feel like you can have your own point of view and find yourself agreeing and disagreeing with him as you read, unlike other factual books
.All in all I think this book would be hard to improve on because of the funny and charming way it is written, so I would definitely recommend this book to other people.
As a side note, this book was especially helpful to me as I am studying GCSE history.
Review
Reviewed by Ryan J S Bovenizer
One Summer: America 1927
by Bill Bryson