Unknown Title

Title:

Icons of England / edited by Bill Bryson.

Author:

Bryson, Bill editor.

ISBN:

9781784161965

Physical Description:

367 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm

Content Type:

text

Media Type (RDA):

unmediated

Carrier Type:

volume

General Note:

Originally published: Think Books, 2008.

Abstract:

This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies. First published as a lavish colour coffee table book, this new expanded paperback edition has double the original number of contributions from many celebrities including Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Adie, Kevin Spacey, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Richard Mabey, Simon Jenkins, John Sergeant, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joan Bakewell, Antony Beevor, Libby Purves, Jonathan Dimbleby, and many more: and a new preface by HRH Prince Charles.

Subject Term:

Country life -- England.

Geographic Term:

England -- Social life and customs.

Added Author:

Bryson, Bill

Format:

Books

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Summary

This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies. The original contributions come from Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Adie, Kevin Spacey, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Richard Mabey, Simon Jenkins, John Sergeant, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joan Bakewell, Antony Beevor, Libby Purves, Jonathan Dimbleby, and many more.

Author Notes

Bill Bryson is the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, In a Sunburned Country, The Road to Little Dribbling , and A Short History of Nearly Everything . He has been awarded the Aventis Prize, the Descartes Prize (the European Union's highest literary award), the Bradford Washburn Award from the Museum of Science in Boston, and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Bill Bryson Prize was named for him.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

Say the word England and people may conjure thoughts of Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, or Her Majesty the Queen, but Bryson, a native Iowan and British transplant, collected brief essays about the country's more humble delights and discoveries. One essay considers stiles, a sort of gate, yet not gate, which allows the walker to easily cross a fence. Other essays explore marrows, a squash resembling zucchini, or why so many pubs are named for the Marquis of Granby. The essay on London's sewage system is breezy, informative, and sobering. Some topics, of course, must be included, like the weather and the countryside. Because few essays are longer than three pages, readers can easily dip in and out at will or savor favorites again and again. Contributors include famous names like Kevin Spacey and former Monty Python member Michael Palin. Armchair travelers and Anglophiles will be equally pleased.--Curbow, Joan Copyright 2017 Booklist