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Average Customer Rating:

Short and sweet, fund raiser!

Customer Rating:

The phrase short and sweet popped into my mind about this 49 page little book about Bill Bryson's 8 days in Kenya. It is actually a bitter sweet account about the work of the charity organization CARE one of the worlds leading international organizations fighting against poverty. They believe that by working to find the source of a communities problems and solving it they can help make the world a safer and more stable place for us all. Unfortunately the book is a very superficial glance into the problems that are facing Kenya poverty, war, disease and corruption. However it did its job reminding me that we should be grateful for the small things in life and appreciate the fact that there are millions of people in Africa lacking even the basics for survival.

A Brilliant Entry for a Great Cause

Customer Rating:

Bill Bryson is the funniest travel writer working today, I believe, and even when he takes on what is an unpleasant task - visiting one of the most depressed areas of the world in order to raise funds for CARE, he does it in a hilarious way. In this short little book, Bryson not only shares with us his (by turns) funny and heartbreaking journey, we also get to meet some amazing people. The lady who works twelve-hour days in order to get a profit of some $7 or $8 - the farmer who has made a fantastic farm and is very proud of it - the villagers who come out to welcome the visitors with open arms because of a well that was built, eliminating the need for the women of the village to make a seven-hour roundtrip journey to the nearest water source. This is what it's all about - this is the magical work that CARE does with the funds that are donated. Bryson is his usual, witty self, freely confessing that the homework he did in preparing for his trip was watching Out of Africa numerous times, and he thought that he was going to be on an estate being served coffee for most of the trip. The reality was somewhat different, but still far afield from what he expected. That I not only laughed out loud but insisted on reading choice bits aloud to my husband is a testament to the talent and humor that Bryson brings to everything he does.

It's a charity book, people...

Customer Rating:

This was never intended to be a regular Bill Bryson book. He was invited to take a short trip to Africa, on a timetable set by his charitable guests, and to produce an equally short volume to raise funds for the charity. This he did, taking no royalties for himself. To complain about the length or to compare it to his other travelogues completely misses the point. Yes it's short, but bear in mind that for a hardcover it's pretty cheap. As it happens, the standard of writing is as high as ever - laugh-out-loud anecdotes mixed with thought-provoking and fascinating insights into the lives of the people helped by the charity. It's well worth buying for that alone, regardless of the fact that for once your money will be doing some good rather than lining a publisher's pockets.

Not a 'proper' Bryson book, but entertaining......

Customer Rating:

I would urge everybody to read at least one Bill Bryson book in their lifetime. He is a most entertaining and intelligent writer, the kind who you would feel no qualms having a few drinks and a conversation with; he is that concilliatory with his readers. This slim volume of sixty pages, however, was only intended to draw attention to the work of CARE and, despite the title, takes place in only one country (Kenya) of the massive African continent. Whereas I understand and appreciate the concern of the author and the charity, it is not a patch on the richly deep and hilarious 'proper' Bryson travel books such as Notes From A Small Island or A Walk In The Woods. Very much a completists buy.

Incredibly funny for such a short book	Customer Rating:
I was amazed by the quality of this work - initially disappointed by its size, I read it nevertheless and was soon in fits of laughter. It is unbelievable how an author manages to pack such a dense number of insights into such a compact work. A thoroughly good read - highly recommended.