Years ago, I was recommended this and other Bill Bryson books when the recommender (recommendee?) discovered that I loved to travel and write.

It wasn’t until I returned from my most recent cross-country road trip that I decided to pick up The Lost Continent. I was intrigued by Bryson’s humorous observations about some of the very places that I had just returned from, his endearing memories of family vacations, and his newfound love for his native state of Iowa. I thought some of his descriptions of his various stops were spot-on, others not so much.

As for Bryson’s humor, I’m not sure if he was trying to employ Mark Twainesque satire to his writing, but on many occasions he came away sounding very mean-spirited and petulant, which I think spoiled the narrative a bit for me.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I was also glad that I chose to read this book after my trip so that my written observations were purely my own and not influenced by the author.