Notes from a big personality

CELEBRATED author Bill Bryson smiles warmly when discussing the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the English character but shakes his head with sorrow when his attention turns to American politics.

The renowned Anglophile left the United States in 1973 for a backpacking holiday when the country was gripped by a murky political scandal involving President Nixon. Today, President Bush is under fire for America's gung-ho response to the terrorist attacks of September 11 and waging an unpopular war in Iraq.

The world is watching while the deposed dictator goes on trial but Bryson describes the situation as a "national disgrace".

He says: "I was really, really disappointed, not only that we had the war in Iraq, but the way it was conducted and everything that has come after. My feeling always is that war should be absolutely the last resort. You don't go off and kill people unless you are really forced into a corner.

"Saddam Hussein wasn't actually a danger to anyone and he wasn't in a position to do anything to harm us. We could have stepped up the pressure and could have even dropped a few bombs with well- directed missiles but the idea to just go in and do carpet bombing, knowing that you are blowing up residential areas, is heartbreaking.

"We didn't even bother to count the civilians that were killed in Iraq and that is a great tragedy when there were other things we could have done before we started bombing."

Criticism of the administration's foreign policy has been heightened with the release of Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Bryson is interested to see how the film fares in America but is unconvinced it will sway a one half of a divided nation.

He says: "I suspect that the people who go to it are the people who are on his side already. I don't think it will make that much difference in the States, but I don't know."

Bryson was born in middle-America, Des Moines, Iowa, to be more precise, in 1951, but his spirit of adventure brought him to England where he met his wife and decided to settle.

During his time here he developed a great curiosity for the differences between his homeland and this nation, "where people get genuinely excited by the prospect of a warm beverage".

He says: "Britain and America are interesting because they contrast so well. Most British people go to America and say 'This is really nice, I could live here', or 'I like this lifestyle'. Americans come over here and say exactly the same thing. The two countries complement each other very well but they are very different.

"The one thing I was disappointed about Britain is that people don't appreciate how good they have got it. There is an awful lot about this country that is terrific and better than other places in the world.

"There is a wrong tendency here to assume that things are worse here than it is elsewhere. People say: 'Oh God, the railways are rubbish,' well sometimes they are but it is just the same in any other country. It's not like railways are fantastic in other countries.

"There are a lot of things in Britain that are the best in the world, such as culture like theatre and television. Public entertainment and media of all kinds are much better here but people don't realise and appreciate it."

Bryson worked as a sub-editor on The Times and The Independent for many years, doing travel articles to supplement his income, before deciding to give up work in 1987 to concentrate on writing full time at his Yorkshire Dales home.

His first travel book was The Lost Continent, published two years later, in which he toured small town America in his mother's Chevy.

It followed pangs of homesickness for Des Moines following the death of his father while Bryson was still living in the UK.

His style of coupling interesting facts with wry observations and occasionally barbed, but hysterical, comments about other cultures has made him hugely popular, but in the early days he had to keep writing articles to support his young family. He says: "With great reluctance I agreed to do a weekly column in the Mail on Sunday, almost entirely because the guy who ran Night and Day magazine was an old friend who was very persuasive and offered me good money.

"I didn't want the weekly commitment but I started doing it and I found I really enjoyed it and I ended up doing it for two years.

"There are times when you just don't know what to say. It was supposed to be funny every week and sometimes that is something of a tall order.

'Little by little, I realised it was whole lot more fun to go somewhere, be a tourist, write 1,500 words and get paid for it rather than drive into London every day and find a place to park.

"The good thing about doing a column is you are doing a book in very small chunks as you go along so it's a great wheeze."

Bryson's "wheeze" turned out to be a bestseller entitled Notes From A Small Island in which he toured his beloved British Isles, gently ribbing our country, customs and culture with great affection.

In 1995, he moved his family to Hanover, in New Hampshire, so they could see what life was like in the States, before returning to England in 2003.

He followed Notes from a Small Island with Notes from a Big Country, about the United States, and Notes from Down Under, from Australia, giving him a reputation as one of the foremost travel writers.

He says: "The one downside is that you have to go away to do it and, over the years, I have spent a lot of time away from my family, which is difficult.

"The upside is that I get to a lot of exciting places, have a good deal of fun and call it work."

His latest book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, was published in Spring 2003, earning him the world's most prestigious science book award - the coveted Aventis prize.

Bryson says: "I had promised my long-suffering wife that I would do a book where I could stay at home and spend more time in the library. That was my challenge. It was great I really enjoyed it. The biggest challenge was having it accepted by the scientific community. I am kind of astonished I got away with it. It was kind of a risky thing to do."

Last month, Bryson received an honorary doctorate in civil law from Durham University. The university was so pleased with his glowing comments about the city that it uses his words from Notes From A Small Island on its website.

The author says he fell in love with Durham as soon as he stepped off the train and saw the castle and cathedral overlooking the River Wear.

He says: "It is a fantastic setting and is one of the great sights in the world. You just think, 'Why has no-one brought me here before? Why has it taken so long for me to find this place?' Every single part of the city seemed a real delight. A large part of it was not just because its a wonderful place but also because it took me by surprise.

"I have always liked it in the North-East, especially Newcastle, because I think it is the friendliest part of the country, and I am not just saying that."

So what does the future hold for the world's best known backpacker?

Bryson is certainly going to continue writing but he is unsure about where his next destination will be.

He seems keen on Japan but says some places do not lend themselves to the witty travel books he specialises in. One title you are unlikely to see in bookshops is Notes From Baghdad.