This book is a typical Bryson but just not as good as his other books. It is in parts funny and full of dry ironic wit. Bryson travels through Britain on foot and by train, visits famous places, big cities, museums in small town Britain, towns that have seen better times and tourist attractions. One cannot help but notice a little bit of hostility towards city planers and architectural disasters which changed the face of so many once beautiful towns. The best parts in this book are when he meets with people on trains, hotels and restaurants and recalls a dialogue or just observes people. I wish there were more such wonderful encounters and funny dialogues. However Bryson puts a lot of emphasis on describing places and buildings and other trivialities, such as railway schedules. Sometimes it does get a little boring, like when he walks up and down the town of Milton Keynes and looks for the shopping mall. After a few such descriptions the reader gets the idea - modern British city planing discriminates pedestrians and aesthetic pretentious people. This book could be so much more, as I believe you can only truly get to know a country when you meet its people.