Bill Bryson

William "Bill" McGuire Bryson (born December 8 , 1951) is a best-selling American -born British author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English Language and on scientific subjects. He has lived for most of his adult life in the United Kingdom. His travel writing titles shot him to fame and in 2003, in conjunction with World Book Day, voters in Great Britain chose Bryson's book Notes from a Small Island as that which best sums up British identity and the state of the nation. In 2004, Bryson won the prestigious Aventis Prize for best general-science book with A Short History of Nearly Everything. This concise and popular piece of literature explores not only the histories and current statuses of the sciences, but also reveals their humble and often humorous beginnings. One "top scientist" is alleged to have jokingly described the book as "annoyingly free of mistakes". His latest offering is is a memoir about growing up in 1950s America entitled The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.