Book Review: Thunderbolt Kid

Most of the books I read are either non-fiction investment related books or mystery novels. So it was refreshing to come across a really humorous book called The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir, by Bill Bryson.

This is the true story about how the author survived growing up in the 1950's in the Midwest. This book is hilarious! I guarantee that, unless you are offended by bathroom humor, you are guaranteed to laugh out loud by the time you reach the story about the jars on page 29 and 30. [Now you are forewarned if you happen to read this book on a train, subway, bus or airplane.]

Is there business angle to this book? As a matter of fact, yes. Bryson intersperses his experiences with comments about the economy and businesses during that time period. For example:

"By 1951...Americans owned 80 percent of the world's electrical goods, controlled two-thirds of the world's productive capacity, produced more than 40 percent of its electricity, 60 percent of its oil, and 66 percent of its steel. The 5 percent of people on Earth who were Americans had more wealth than the other 95 percent combined."

Do you remember mimeographs, I Love Lucy, Boy's Life, Roy Rogers, The Blob, the Burns and Allen Show, Maidenform bras, Rebel Without a Cause, anti-Communism, Dick and Jane, and Duck-and-Cover Drills? This book will bring back memories. If you are a baby boomer born and raised during the 1950's or early 1960's, or have parents or children who did, or just had friends who grew up during that era, then you will find this book very entertaining.

The book is available through Amazon.com and all major booksellers, and is also available as an audio book.