Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1951. He settled in England in 1977 and lived in North Yorkshire for almost two decades. He now lives in Hanover, New Hampshire. His travel books are "The Lost Continent", "Neither Here Nor There", "Notes From a Small Island", "A Walk in the Woods", "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" (aka "Notes From a Big Country") and "Bill Bryson in a Sunburned Country" (aka "Down Under"). His books on the English language are "Mother Tongue" and "Made in America".