This book: part humor, part travelogue, narrates Bryson's road trip across the United States and back again. Bryson travels without strict itinerary, and with frequent stops in small towns across the country. The narrative is written in classic Bryson style, with frequent diversions to explain the origin of many of life's oddities, and with constant sideline commentary. As is usually the case with Bryson, the narrative is illuminating, amusing, and shows Bryson's sense of adventure. It was a pleasure to read. Yes, Bryson is frequently critical, but it's important to note that he's an equal-opportunity offender. Wherever he goes he brings his decidedly sarcastic wit, but he also balances criticism with admiration. This is not a book with a weighty message about humanity or morality, but it is a fun read to pick up and put down at leisure. And the ability to dive in and out is one of the beautiful things about this book; one can enjoy it and put it aside at will, and it takes little time to become reengaged in Bryson's prose.

A quick read...it totally sucked me in. Now I've got a serious case of wanderlust and desperately want to take a long roadtrip. Too bad gas is so much more expensive now than when Bryson took his trip!

I've enjoyed many of Bryson's books and knew that he didn't hold back when critiquing the people, places and things he's encountered, but somehow I was saddened to find page after page of his disappointment in all things American. Yep, he's an American, but somehow his time in Britain his given him license to be snobbish and elitist. Still and yet, the book was entertaining with a number of passages that made me laugh out loud. While the cynicism became grating mid-book, it was still an enjoyable enough read, if only because I had been to many of the places he degrades and have shared his frustration with the commercialization and crassness of tourist culture - but I don't have to write a book to tell everyone that I am "better than that".

He's very cynical, which is fine for a short article but very tiring for a long book. It started to seem like he was purposely driving around looking for things not to like. It was like being on vacation with my dad. Not fun.

Bryson takes a 38-state driving tour of the USA. Somehow he manages to find a lot of towns that are boring and bothersome; but he writes about them with such sincerity that you find yourself laughing about his travels.

Another Bill Bryson classic travel/comedy tale. In this one, Bryson takes to the small back roads of America to discover its charm, and shares in an amusing fashion what he found instead. Good read!

An unsparingly hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America an his searh for the perfect small town.

hilarious as always.

This book took me back to my own trips going across the country by car with me family when I was a child. Although some of it is a bit dated it was still a fun read. Bryson has a way of phrasing things that makes me laugh out loud. I loved his time spent in the south trying to understand the locals. A fast easy read and worth the time.

"Picture W.C. Fields on a driving tour of thirty-eight American states, and you have some sense of Bill Bryson's The Lost Coninent."-Pittsburg Press

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The guy is funny....what more can I say. His powers of observation when he tours those tiny little rat-trap towns along the way are dead-on hilarious! Some places did drag...you can't read this book nonstop....it needs a breather. In it, Bryson goes solo driving through most of the country, and if you have ever spent your summer vacation in the back of the chevy or station wagon with mom and dad up front driving, stopping to read the historical markers, eating at the local dives and sizing up the locals themselves....well, you've got the picture, sort-of. Thumb's up!

Sarcastically laugh out loud funny. Seems to be anti small town America . A good read

Truly a delight. Bryson is hilarious! This is the perfect book to pack in your carry on bag. If you're looking for a nice getaway, look no further.

This is an absolutely delightful book to read. Bryson's writing style would be enjoyable no matter what he's writing about.

Funny tales of Bill Bryson's visits to numerous small towns across the country, with all their peculiarities. Sad too as de enlightens the reader on the decline of true towns in the face of rising strip malls and freeways.

Awesome! Very funny, light read.

Bryson takes on America. You've never taken a road trip quite like his.

He is funny, but I found him easier to take in small doses. He likes to make fun of people and places and if I read too much at once, it just made me annoyed at the author. However, I do plan to try another of his books.

This book was written when Bill Bryson was still funny and before his "everything is better in Britain/Europe" mean-spirited attitude roward the USA.

Hilarious!

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