Bill Bryson moved, with his wife and children, to America after having lived in England for twenty years. Upon arriving, someone pushed a column at him and this book contains many of those columns about his observations on life in America. For example, he was struck by the fact that there were many free things to be had such as free refills and free matchbooks.

This book made this reader laugh out loud at times because of the different viewpoint on everyday things. This new angle on familiar, seemingly ordinary things can make the reader think again about how different things are in other places. For example, it was refreshing and funny to hear about a man acting like a little boy and putting different things down the garbage disposal in the sink just to hear what sound they made.

This book was amusing and entertaining. The references to not knowing what repair people are talking about when they try to discuss mechanical problems are hilarious, the tale about a trip to the beach with his family comical. Also in this book are a few serious points, like how Americans recycle less than others and use more power just to keep their hot water on twenty-four hours a day. This is a book well worth reading both for its information and diversion


Reviewed by Melissa Rossi

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 humour 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. © Amazon.com

It is difficult to describe the late Janardhan Thakur. Was he an erudite journalist or an in-depth writer? Actually, he was both of these.

Thakur's pieces were never really high on researched facts. But they gave an insight into the personality he wrote about. I last met him when I was researching an article on the Congress and its relevance 50 years after Independence. He not only gave me insight into the Congress party's decline, but also an insight into the events that shaped the destiny of the first family of the Congress party and Indian politics ---- Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, her 'bahus' (daughters-in-law) Sonia and Maneka, and her sons Rajiv and Sanjay.

In 'Faces, Forty in the Fray', Thakur does exactly that. He goes behind the facades of politicians, warts and all. He chooses 40 personalities across the spectrum of political hues --- leftist, rightist, centrist, red, saffron... His characters range from Atal Behari Vajpayee to Laloo Prasad Yadav, Kanshi Ram to Mayawati, Sonia Gandhi to Lal Krishan Advani. The style is his own peculiar one, a mix of storytelling, profile and political analysis.

In his foreword Thakur says: "There is place for everyone in Indian politics and most of them are consummate politicians who have an uncanny knack of sensing the pulse of common man."

In the title of each profile, he has used one word to describe each personality he writes about. So Farooq Abdullah becomes 'Kashmir's middleman', K Karunakaran is referred to as 'Malayalee manipulator', Sharad Pawar is a 'clever go getter', and Uma Bharati is 'glamour in saffron', Sonia Gandhi is referred to as 'pasta politics, L K Advani is 'always the regrets' and for Bhajan Lal 'chair is his only ideology'.

Thakur gives a lowdown on the dirty politicking that goes on behind the scenes and interesting anecdotes about their political careers. He refers to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and P V Narasimha Rao as 'men of destiny." An ailing Rao was packing his bags to go home, when his destiny took a turn and he became India's Prime Minister. Also, the only prime minister to have the guts to de-shackle India's economy and usher in the liberalisation era.

Similarly, Gowda was meant to be nothing more than a district politician, but ended up being the prime minister due to the fractious verdict given by Indian voters which led to a coalition government. He ran India like it was just another state.

What makes 'Faces, Forty in the Fray' interesting are the beautifully written profiles which makes reading a pleasure. The fact that it does not go into facts and figures but demystifies India's politicians for us makes the book a sure shot winner. It's not a serious evaluation of India's political scenario so don't read it for a historical perspective.