I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away

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Not my favorite author in this genre

Funny and thoughtful about the US and Britain.

The sheer silliness of being American

One funny little story after another

My favourite author

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away
Bill Bryson
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076790382X
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Amazon.com

In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for King of Crankiness. Granted, he complains well and humorously, but between every line of his travel books you can almost hear the tinny echo: "I wanna go home, I miss my wife."

Happily, I'm a Stranger Here Myself unleashes a new Bryson, more contemplative and less likely to toss daggers. After two decades in England, he's relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire. In this collection (drawn from dispatches for London's Night & Day magazine), he's writing from home, in close proximity to wife and family. We find a happy marriage between humor and reflection as he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective of one who's stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson aptly holds the mirror up to U.S. culture, capturing its absurdities--such as hotlines for dental floss, the cult of the lawsuit, and strange American injuries such as those sustained from pillows and beds. "In the time it takes you to read this," he writes, "four of my fellow citizens will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding."

The book also reflects the sweet side of small-town USA, with columns about post-office parties, dining at diners, and Thanksgiving--when the only goal is to "get your stomach into the approximate shape of a beach ball" and be grateful. And grateful we are that the previously peripatetic Bryson has returned to the U.S., turning his eye to this land--while living at home and near his wife. Under her benevolent influence, he entertains through thoughtful insights, not sarcastic stabs. --Melissa Rossi

Book Description

After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens--as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item.

Delivering the brilliant comic musings that are a Bryson hallmark, I'm a Stranger Here Myself recounts his sometimes disconcerting reunion with the land of his birth. The result is a book filled with hysterical scenes of one man's attempt to reacquaint himself with his own country, but it is also an extended if at times bemused love letter to the homeland he has returned to after twenty years away.

Customer Reviews:

Not my favorite author in this genre.......2007-07-22

I read through about the first third of this offering by Bill Bryson and found I simply could not get into it. Written in the spirit of Dave Barry, Mary Roach and maybe Erma Bombeck, it is intended to draw humor from the little idiosyncrasies of daily American life as seen by an expatriot returned from years in the U.K.

Where I find Dave Barry's turns of phrase highly amusing I tend to find Bill's commentary more rankling. Each article highlights some aspect of American life that I find less than satisfying and the commentary, though trying to be amusing, simply comes off as frustrating.

Funny and thoughtful about the US and Britain........2007-07-03

This book has a charming premise. Bryson is an American writer who lived in Britain for over twenty years, marrying an Englishwoman and raising two children. He moved back to the States with his family, where he wrote a series of essays about America for a British audience.

Bryson is a keen and witty observer of life. How many of us could write an entire essay prompted by the existence of a 24-hour help line on a dental floss dispenser? The essays are uniformly amusing, sometimes side-splitting.

Thought not as consistently funny as Dave Barry, Bryson goes further by adding a healthy dose of thoughtfulness to it all. Throughout the book he ponders what it means to be American, comparing and contrasting it with what it means to British. Every so often the question of Canadianness pops in as well. As countries divided by a common language, they provide a nice playground for Bryson, and he has a good time with them.

The sheer silliness of being American.......2007-06-03

Laugh-out-loud hilarious. Bryson's observations about American society and its absurdities rings so true and the author is the perfect vehicle for showcasing these stories. He is just so lovable in his books. His absentmindedness and his sharp wit both serve him extremely well. While poking fun at others, he also pokes fun at himself. His work is just priceless.

One funny little story after another.......2007-06-01

In this book, Bill Bryson presents a compilation of weekly columns he had published upon his return from England to the States, after being away for 20 years. And boy did he had a cultural shock! He presents in a VERY funny way the things that we take for granted every day and, one by one, dissects the very elements that make up the American way of life in an insightful way.

The book is assembled in a chapter fashion with a certain structure that connects them whenever applicable. The chapters are short and self-contained enough to turn the book into an endless feed of amazing 5-minute fun reads before bedtime or while you are sitting in a waiting room.

My favourite author.......2007-05-30

Bill Bryson has to be one of the 'most readable' authors for folk who prefer a good chuckle. My wife is not so happy and moans about my giggling keeping her awake.
Keep up the good work Bill

I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF- NOTES ON RETURNING TO AMERICA AFTER 20 YEARS AWAY

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I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF- NOTES ON RETURNING TO AMERICA AFTER 20 YEARS AWAY

Manufacturer: Broadway Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H3S1RE

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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Wets The Appetite

Queen Victoria's Commanders (Elite)
Michael Barthorp
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1841760544
Release Date: 2000-09-25

Book Description

Michael Barthorp's entertaining and authoritative study includes key commanders such as (India 1837-56) Charles Napier, Hugh Gough, Harry Smith; (Crimean War) Lord Raglan, James Scarlett, George Cathcart, John Pennefather; (Indian Mutiny) John Nicholson, Henry Havelock, Hope Grant, Colin Campbell; (India 1860-98) Frederick Roberts; (Africa) Robert Napier, Garnet Wolseley, Herbert Stewart, Evelyn Wood, Redvers Buller, Hector Macdonald and Herbert Kitchener – among others.

Customer Reviews:

Wets The Appetite.......2001-02-06

This book details some of the conflicts of the British Empire during the reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1902. The book starts each period by providing brief campaign outlines, India 1837-56, The Mutiny 1857-1860, The Post Mutiny Period 1861-1898, and Africa 1837-1898. It then discusses the major commanders or military personal of note in each period.

The biographies included are those of Charles Napier, Hugh Gough, Harry Smith, Lacy Yea, James Scarlett, George Cathcart, Fitzroy Somerset (Lord Raglan), John Pennefather, Frederick Haines, John Nicholson, Henry Havelock, Hope Grant, Colin Campbell, John Ewart, Roger Roberts, Walter Hamilton, Haldane Rattray, Frederick Roberts, Francis Brownlow, Robert Napier, Garnet Wolseley, Herbert Stewart, Evelyn Wood, Redvers Buller, Hector Macdonald, and Herbert Kitchener.

I found the book interesting and one to wet the appetite but I also felt that it could have been made better by the inclusion of simple material to aid the novice. I felt the book would have benefited greatly by the inclusion of general maps, so as to give the novice an outline of the geography, cities, battles, lines of march and the areas over which the conflicts where fought.

The book also assumes some knowledge of the conflicts and period. For example, in the Crimea section, the Battle of Balaclava with Lord's Lucan and Cardigan is glossed over with the words, "enough has been written elsewhere". I would have liked to have seen at least a couple of paragraphs on them and the battle itself.

Further I was expecting to find something on the conflicts in China. There are the Opium wars of 1839-1843 & 1856-1860, the Taiping Rebellion 1851-1864, and the Boxer Rebellion 1896-1901. I was also expecting to find a history of General Charles Gordon (nicknamed "Chinese" Gordon) 1833-1885. I was disappointed, there is only passing mention made of Gordon and the China conflicts. Gordon is regarded by some historians as one of Britain's greatest military leaders, and by others as charismatic, yet quixotic and impulsive. This book does give the history of Garnet Wolseley and Herbert Stewart who were part of the Gordon Relief Expedition in 1884-1885.

General Gordon had served with distinction in the Crimea 1853-1856. He saw action in the Second Opium War 1856-1860 which included the seizure of Beijing. Gordon commanded a force known as the Ever-Victorious Army during the Taiping Rebellion 1851-1864. With them, he recaptured the rebel capital, Nanking (now Nanjing) in 1864 and completely suppressed the rebellion. Gordon served in various diplomatic and military posts through 1864-1874, before serving as Governor of a Sudanese province from 1874. A revolt occurred in Sudan in 1883 and Gordon was tasked with evacuating Khartoum. The evacuation was partially successful, 2500 women and children escaped. A ten month siege of Khartoum followed with Khartoum falling on 26 January 1885. Gordon along with his entire garrison were massacred. Two days later the expeditionary force, dispatched by Gladstone, finally arrived.

Overall I found the book interesting and wet the appetite, but it could have been made much better by the inclusion of maps and a number of other biographies.

Product Description

The second volume of Unmasking Terror reviews trends and significant events in international terrorism, with selected articles from the journals Terrorism Monitor and Terrorism Focus. Through concise and informative analysis, Unmasking Terror provides invaluable information on terrorist groups that is not often covered in the mainstream media. The book brings together leading experts on terrorism and security, with analysis on the inner workings of terrorist groups, their motives and aims, and their relationships with one another. Written for both the specialist and the general reader, Unmasking Terror is an important resource for anyone serious about understanding terrorism.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Unmasking Terror by Michael Scheuer.......2005-05-18

By Michael Scheuer, Author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror

"If it's not classified, it's not intelligence." Sadly this operating assumption is all too commonly held in the highest policy-making levels of Western governments. U.S. and European policymakers -- appointed and elected -- are beguiled by the thought of reading materials collected in the ether or via spies, and often ignore information just as pertinent to their pending decisions simply because it is unclassified. To their countries' detriment, they miss much because of this condescending attitude, and the excellent new book from the non-partisan Jamestown Foundation -- Unmasking Terror: A Global Review of Terrorist Activities -- provides a superb example of the kind of quality information policymakers tend to ignore.

Jamestown's 600-page volume captures the worldwide dimensions of Islamic terrorism and insurgency and does so in short, digestible articles based on indigenous press sources, personal interviews, and the substantial experience of their authors. Multiple articles on al-Qaeda that give readers a clear view of the organization's durability and lethal potential are followed by similar multi-essay sections on Chechnya, Pakistan, Central Asia, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Europe and North America. The volume's editors succeed not only in providing a region-by-region review of Islamic terrorism, but have constructed their book in a way that affords the reader an understanding of how the groups -- of which al-Qaeda is only the most prominent -- increasingly view themselves as part of a worldwide movement.

Jamestown's Unmasking Terror also presents the reader with what seems to me a unique set of interviews with some of the world's top experts on the war being waged by al-Qaeda and its allies. Peter Bergen, Jason Burke, and former National Security Council Senior Director Daniel Benjamin speak on the capabilities and evolution of al-Qaeda, while Sa'd al-Faqih, the London-based leader of the Movement for Reform in Arabia, discusses al-Qaeda's role within the context of opposition to the al-Saud family in Saudi Arabia. Other interviews in the book also add to our understanding of the growth of Islamic militancy in Europe, Central Asia, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, and Afghanistan.

I would recommend Unmasking Terror to any specialist or lay reader who is interested in an erudite but manageable survey of Islamic terrorism around the globe. The book will leave the reader with a solid if unsettling view of the dangerous historical period into which the West has entered. It may also leave the reader angry that the policymakers tasked to defend us against the terrorist threat far too frequently fail to exploit the kind of fine, objective, and unclassified scholarship on the issue that is contained in Unmasking Terrorism.

Michael Scheuer served in the CIA for 22 years before resigning in 2004. He served as the Chief of the bin Laden Unit at the Counterterrorist Center from 1996 to 1999. He is the once anonymous author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror and Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America. Mr. Scheuer is a regular contributor to the Terrorism Focus, a publication of the Jamestown Found

good for researchers..........2005-04-23

This is a very detailed volume, it's a useful reference. i'm not sure about the average reader who knows very little about the actual issues involved, this is really the meat and bones of terrorism and security. i have suggested it to other collueagues in Sweden too. If you want details without opinion, this is a good buy.

There should be more books like this one.......2005-03-10

Unmasking Terror is an excellent purchase for anyone interested in learning more about global terrorism. The breakdown of the book is by country, which makes it very easy to navigate through. I was delighted to see that a large percentage of the authors actually live and work in the countries they reported on. Unfortunately, it's not often you find a book which offers so many different perspectives outside of the American one. In addition, the interviews were tremendously insightful since many of the interviewees are privy to the inner workings of these groups. In my opinion, this is the best compendium of articles on terrorism in existence.

Unmasking Terror: A Global Review of Terrorist Activities

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Unmasking Terror: A Global Review of Terrorist Activities

Manufacturer: Jamestown Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Release Date: 2007-03-31

Book Description

This three-year record book has been carefully designed to help you accurately record the birds you have seen and to note observations on their behavior.

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