# Humour in travel/non-fiction writing, rec's for Bill Bryson fan

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humour-in-travel-non-fiction-writing-recs-for-bill-bryson-fan/280588>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 19, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humour-in-travel-non-fiction-writing-recs-for-bill-bryson-fan/280588 "2004-12-19T02:09:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humour-in-travel-non-fiction-writing-recs-for-bill-bryson-fan/280588/21 "2004-12-20T02:22:47Z")

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> [@gentle](#):
>
> [The Professor and the Madman](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006099486X) by Simon Winchester was a success last year.  
> Any other recommendations?

I loved _The Professor and the Madman_. Do you know that Simon Winchester has written another book about the creation of the Oxford Dictionary? It is titled [The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary](http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/019517500X/qid=1103509056/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/701-6097515-8169101). I personally haven’t read it yet, but your giftee might enjoy it.

For light “travel” you might want to consider [Peter Mayle](http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/701-6097515-8169101). He wrote _A Year in Provence_ (made into a t.v. miniseries starring John Thaw of Inspector Morse fame), \*Toujours Provence \* and now has a new book out, _A Good Year_.

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