Wow, I don't remember Bill Bryson being quite so snarky in the last book of his that I read, but every time his grumpy commentary turned me off, he'd follow it up with something funny, heartfelt or beautiful, so it was a hard book to walk away from. His grumpy codger commentary is quite funny in its own way, but it gets sort of depressing because the world he mourns is lost, and is unlikely to return. ( )

I'm not sure if it was for humorous effect or what, but Bryson comes off as quite the grumpy curmudgeon a good portion of the book. He does at times poke fun at himself too, which I enjoyed more, but lots and lots of complaining that towns have gone down hill since the '70s, or that a particular sandwich he ate was poor, or that some random shop keeper or ticket seller didn't respond how he wanted them to, etc. I wouldn't want someone to sugar coat every aspect of their travels, but there's plenty of middle ground between the two! Still, it's an interesting topic and he had some good insight as well. ( )

Aweful! Bryson as a bloviating, bigoted, grumpy old white guy, phoning in a tedious nostalgia trip. ( )

I've enjoyed his walking tour books before, but the history was fairly perfunctory, and the comic bits even more so. ( )

I read this almost immediately after finishing Notes from a Small Island, and I found this twenty years later sequel disappointing. There isn't nearly as much detailed information about various parts of Britain; instead Bryson spends a lot of the time griping about things, such as shortsighted politicians, government spending on the wrong things, litter, geographical illiteracy, and so on. Even if you agree with Bryson--and I do in almost every case--it makes for an often depressing read. This overshadows the actually informative parts of the book. I guess it is Bryson's deep love for Britain and things British that makes him despair at a lot of the things he sees. And with his success, and as he grows older, he has no need to please anyone but himself. And in this book, that's exactly what he does. ( )