‘Is this the most cheerful book I’ve ever read?...hilarious...a lovely, happy book’ Evening Standard 

‘Tender, hilarious and true’ The Times 

Bill Bryson’s first travel book opened with the immortal line, ‘I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.’ In this deeply funny new book, he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, in the curious world of 1950s America. It was a happy time, when almost everything was good for you, including DDT, cigarettes and nuclear fallout. This is a book about one boy’s growing up. But in Bryson’s hands, it becomes everyone’s story, one that will speak volumes- especially to anyone who has ever been young.