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Review
“Bryson is one of the funniest travel writers in the business.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Bryson has become an enormously popular travel writer by coming off as the most literate tour guide you’ve ever had.” -- The New York Times

“Bryson is a terrific stylist. You can’t help but enjoy his writing, for its cheer and buoyancy, and for the frequent demonstration of his peculiar, engaging turn of mind.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“Bryson is first and foremost a storyteller -- and a supremely comic and original one at that.” -- Winnipeg Free Press

From the Inside Flap
"Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh." — Daily Telegraph

Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.

Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.

From the Back Cover
“Bryson is one of the funniest travel writers in the business.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Bryson has become an enormously popular travel writer by coming off as the most literate tour guide you’ve ever had.” -- The New York Times

“Bryson is a terrific stylist. You can’t help but enjoy his writing, for its cheer and buoyancy, and for the frequent demonstration of his peculiar, engaging turn of mind.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“Bryson is first and foremost a storyteller -- and a supremely comic and original one at that.” -- Winnipeg Free Press

Customer Reviews

A Week in Kenya
"Kenya has become a country of ten millionaires and ten million beggars." ~Kenyan politican J.M. Kariuki, assassinated in 1975

This book is only 49 pages which suited me just fine, considering how long it took me to read my last book. I picked this book not only because it is short but also because it is written by Bill Bryson. I have read most of his books and plan to read all of them eventually; however, none of them hold a candle to A Walk in the Woods, the first Bryson book I read.

The book is a diary of his week long journey to Kenya. He writes of the extreme poverty and government corruption of the country; however, he also includes anecdotes demonstrating that he can find humor and beauty in just about anything. I especially loved the section where he talks of his landing in a storm in a light aircraft plane. He is terrified to discover that the plane doesn't have windshield wipers and that the pilot can't see where he's landing. No one can verbalize the horror and comedy of the situation better than Bryson.

I also enjoyed the section about Wedco. Wedco is a micro-finance institution that makes loans only to women that previously had almost no access to business credit. It has been very successful in Kenya and has helped many people improve their quality of life. It reminded me of a book on my to-read list called Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus. Just reading this small excerpt has been motivating and satisfactory. Now I am looking even more forward to this book.
Overall, the book simply wasn't long enough to satisfy; however, to be fair, it never was meant to be a detailed view into Kenya, it is simply a "diary" of Bryson's eight days in Kenya. He wrote the book at the invitation of CARE International and all proceeds went to the charity. The book is a good reminder to be thankful for what you have and to help when you can. It probably took me longer to write this review than it did to read the book.

The ever delightful Bill Bryson
This is a short but delightful CD, produced to promote CARE and all profits and royalties go to that organization. Yet it's a wonderful audio CD that I recommend. However, there is only a single track and if you lose where you were, it's very hard to find the place again, especially while driving and there is no elapsed time indicator on the CD player.

A Brilliant Entry and for a Great Cause
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.