Bizarre World

by Bill Bryson, Kathryn Lamb (Illustrator)

This is a collection of tall tales, absurd stories, and crazy true-life anecdotes. Bill Bryson is also the author of The Lost Continent, Made in America, and Neither Here Nor There.

Genres: Humor, Travel

120 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Bill Bryson is a bestselling American-British author known for his witty and accessible nonfiction books spanning travel, science, and language. He rose to prominence with Notes from a Small Island (1995), an affectionate portrait of Britain, and solidified his global reputation with A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a popular science book that won the Aventis and Descartes Prizes. Raised in Iowa, Bryson lived most of his adult life in the UK, working as a journalist before turning to writing full-time. His other notable works include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and The Mother Tongue. Bryson served as Chancellor of Durham University (2005–2011) and received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including an honorary OBE and election as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Though he announced his retirement from writing in 2020, he remains one of the most beloved voices in contemporary nonfiction, with over 16 million books sold worldwide.

Reviews

[W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes,this silly book bears the name of the same man who wrote A Walk in the Woods.

It is supposed to be a collection of humourous anecdotes,but most of the anecdotes collected here are not funny.

According to the bibliography,these anecodotes were collected over a period of ten years from various periodicals.

Ten years ! That is a long time to spend on a book which should go straight to the trash can.

[Sarah Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryson has ventured away from his usual travel writings to present a compact gift book, of various anecdotes, tall tales and quirky recollections, collected over the years. Quick and enjoyable read. Good fun.

[Karschtl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those are really weird stories, some believable, others completely unbelievable. Like this tale about a man getting killed exactly the same way his brother was killed: driving the same motocycle in the same street and then hit by the same taxidriver (carrying the same passenger)on the same day -only a year later. How is that possible??? On the other hand, the title of the book is "bizarre world". Oh, well...

Nice read, but has not much to do with Brysons other works.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little read, passed it on to my son who likes to read bizarre but true funny happenings in The Readers Digest.

[Don Gubler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and odd.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryson's collection of loopy news stories from all over the world. Absolutely hilarious.