Thunderbolt Kid A Memoir

							              Read-alikes compiled by Sioux City Public Library staff

                The Life and Times of the
          Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
                               by Bill Bryson
     The author recalls an all-American childhood growing up in the heart of
     Iowa, rich in fantasy and cushioned by a remarkably normal 1950s family.


Growing Up in the1950s                                       Baby Boomers
Blooming: A Small-town Girlhood by Susan Allen               Boom! Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How
Toth (Local History 977.7 Tot). Captures the innocence       It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow by Tom Brokaw
and joy of growing up in Ames, Iowa.                         (973.92 Bro). Explores how growing up in the tumultuous
                                                             60s shaped the boomers (and America) then and now.
Big Russ and Me: Father and Son—Lessons of Life
                                                             Dave Barry Turns 50 by Dave Barry (818.5402 Bar). Barry
by Tim Russert (070.92 Rus). This tribute to his father
                                                             narrates a cultural history of the formative Boomer times
describes the anchorman’s boyhood and the many in-
                                                             and his part in them, “… not unlike an archeological dig
fluences on his character.
                                                             through an attic, choking from laughter rather than dust,
A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the Ameri-               as familiar and forgotten memories are refreshed...”
can Heartland in the Forties and Fifties by Tom              Boomers: The Cold War Generation Grows Up by Vic-
Brokaw (070.92 Bro, also spoken word CD and large            tor D. Brooks (New 305.24 Bro). An analytical yet readable
print). Brokaw relates his experiences growing up in         look at the baby boomer generation and its influence on
South Dakota, his early years as a broadcaster, and          American culture.
his deep connection to the Midwest.

The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue: A Child                Iowa Boyhood
of the Fifties Looks Back by Robert Klein (921 Klein,        Old Orchard Farm: The Story of an Iowa Boyhood by
R Kle). Hilarious tales about his 1950s Bronx child-         Hugh Orchard (Local History 977.796 Orc). This memoir is
hood precede a more serious look at the 50s and 60s.         about growing up on a farm near Burlington in the mid-
Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights by Bob                 1800s when “both America and agriculture were simple,
Greene (973.92 Gre). A treasury of best-loved columns        innocent, and untroubled…”
capturing American life in stories that didn’t make the      We Have All Gone Away by Curtis Harnack (Local His-
headlines.                                                   tory 921 Har, Har). The setting of this poignant memoir is
                                                             a farm near Remsen in the 30s and 40s.
Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: the True
Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew               Ah, You Iowans! At Home, at Work, at Play, at War by
Algeo (973.9180 Alg). Travel along with Harry and Bess       Chuck Offenburger (Local History 817.54 Off). The Iowa
on a 2500-mile post-presidential road trip across            Boy columnist from the Des Moines Register shares some
America in 1953 (when gas cost $.27 cents a gallon!).        of his favorite columns portraying life in Iowa.

Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor (Fic-           Period Movies @ the Library
tion Kei) also available large print and spoken word
CD. The story of a 14-year-old growing up in fictional       Pleasantville
Lake Wobegon will appeal to anyone with a nostalgia          Good Night and Good Luck
for small town life and the foibles of the young.            The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
                                                             Quiz Show
The Junk-drawer Corner-Store Front-porch Blues
by John R. Powers (Fiction Pow). Travel down memory
lane in this novel about a Chicago childhood in the
                                                             More by Bill Bryson
50s and 60s.                                                 Shakespeare: The World as Stage
The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio: How My Mother             A Short History of Nearly Everything
Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan             In a Sunburned Country
(977.114 Rya, also available on DVD). This true story
                                                             The Best American Travel Writing 2000
about a determined mother’s efforts to support her 10
kids by writing jingles and entering contests gives an       I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America
enjoyable depiction of life in the 50s and 60s.                  after Twenty Years Away

A Strong West Wind: A Memoir by Gail Caldwell                A Walk in the Woods:Rediscovering America on the
(070.92 Cal) Set in the high plains of Texas, Pulitzer         Appalachian Trail
Prize Winner Caldwell transforms into art what it is         Notes from a Small Island
like to come of age in a particular time and place.
                                                             The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America