Bill Bryson's many books include, most recently `The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid as well as `A Short History of Nearly Everything`, `I'm a Stranger Here Myself , `A walk in the Woods , `Neither Here Nor There , `Made in Americä, and `Notes from a Small Island . He edited `The Best American Travel Writing 2000 . Born in Des Moines, he now lives in Norfolk with his wife and four children.