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At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
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At Home
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-
The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 552
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 459
Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body - how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted."
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Required reading for the self-aware
- By Dr. Gordon K. McIvor on 2020-02-04
Written by: Bill Bryson
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 709
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 591
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 588
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson’s quest to find out everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. His challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. It's not so much about what we know, as about how we know what we know.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Abridged
- By Robin on 2017-11-29
Written by: Bill Bryson
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Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful
- By PDubya on 2021-05-16
Written by: Bill Bryson
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One Summer
- America, 1927
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story5 out of 5 stars 33
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By BW on 2022-08-10
Written by: Bill Bryson
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A Walk in the Woods
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 155
The Appalachian Trail covers 14 states, and over 2,000 miles. It stretches along the East Coast of the United States, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. It is famous for being the longest continuous footpath in the world. (Compare this with the Pennine Way, which is a mere 250 miles long.) It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.
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3 out of 5 stars
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unabridged...?
- By Hebert on 2018-12-06
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
Notes from a Small Island
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy....
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A delightful listen
- By David S on 2021-06-02
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 552
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 459
Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body - how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Required reading for the self-aware
- By Dr. Gordon K. McIvor on 2020-02-04
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 709
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 591
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 588
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson’s quest to find out everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. His challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. It's not so much about what we know, as about how we know what we know.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Abridged
- By Robin on 2017-11-29
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By PDubya on 2021-05-16
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
One Summer
- America, 1927
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 33
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By BW on 2022-08-10
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
A Walk in the Woods
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 155
The Appalachian Trail covers 14 states, and over 2,000 miles. It stretches along the East Coast of the United States, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. It is famous for being the longest continuous footpath in the world. (Compare this with the Pennine Way, which is a mere 250 miles long.) It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
unabridged...?
- By Hebert on 2018-12-06
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
Notes from a Small Island
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A delightful listen
- By David S on 2021-06-02
Written by: Bill Bryson
-
Neither Here Nor There
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here Nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another great Bill Bryson title
- By James Roberts on 2023-02-26
Written by: Bill Bryson
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Made in America
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it.
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-06-28
Written by: Bill Bryson
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The Secret History of Christmas
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
Christmas is the single biggest annual event on the planet, a time for merry-making, over-indulgence, peace, goodwill, and the occasional family row. It’s as comfortable and familiar as a pair of old shoes and yet still glittery and exciting. But what do you really know about it? It’s stuffed full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives without having the slightest idea of where they come from.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pretty good - Short and Sweet
- By RICHARD E on 2022-11-29
Written by: Bill Bryson
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The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
Written by: Bill Bryson
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The Road to Little Dribbling
- Adventures of an American in Britain
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to discover and celebrate that green and pleasant land. The result was Notes from a Small Island, a true classic and one of the bestselling travel books ever written. Now he has traveled about Britain again, by bus and train and rental car and on foot, to see what has changed—and what hasn’t.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not His best work
- By Don on 2020-05-17
Written by: Bill Bryson
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The Lost Continent
- Travels In Small Town America
- Written by: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Hardly anyone ever leaves Des Moines, Iowa. But Bill Bryson did, and after 10 years in England he decided to go home, to a foreign country. In an ageing Chevrolet Chevette, he drove nearly 14,000 miles through 38 states to compile this hilarious and perceptive state-of-the-nation report on small-town America.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing!
- By Pierre Gauthier on 2021-05-17
Written by: Bill Bryson
Publisher's Summary
From one of the most beloved authors of our time—more than six million copies of his books have been sold in this country alone - a fascinating excursion into the history behind the place we call home.
“Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.”
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has figured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.
Bill Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and he is a master at turning the seemingly isolated or mundane fact into an occasion for the most diverting exposition imaginable. His wit and sheer prose fluency make At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 2018-02-25
Interesting, I learned a lot
I enjoyed most of this book. The subject matter was mostly interesting, but it wasn't exactly what I expected. I like how he tied in some vivid and surprising historical events to each room of the house. Sometimes, I found some stories just dragged on. The whole bit about architects didn't seem to fit, but maybe I was so bored by it that I didn't realize it did fit. There are some comedic spots, which made it a good overall book.
The narration was okay. It took me a while to get comfortable with the narration. At the beginning all I could hear was how wet the narrator's mouth was. Thank goodness it got better.
4 stars because I would buy another of this author's audiobooks - even with him narrating.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Joyce Chisholm
- 2021-06-30
Delicious Morsels of Detail
Ah the history of our homes snd the contents there in is so delectable...Bill Bryson is the best person to write znd perform it!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Claire
- 2019-04-16
Fascinating!
Packed with historical facts, Bill Bryson is able to deliver with an interesting and satirical take of how Home life has changed throughout time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Don
- 2023-01-11
Interesting listen
Very detailed a great view on English history did not like some of the references
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jess Paquette
- 2022-12-15
Fascinating read
Interesting and well researched book about so many little facets of history. Especially the bit about how of all the possible spices on the planet, salt and pepper became the two main spices places on our dining room tables. Very much enjoy Bill Bryson’s voice reading his own book as well.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-07-22
interesting. But a very loose through-line
an enjoyable listen, but bill takes us on a very circuitous series of historical discussions that feel only loosely hung on the premise of telling the story of domestic life by going through room by room. the tangents that come out of that sometimes feel like a bit of a stretch, and not always the best direction to go. for example in telling the story of the kitchen, the author tells us the somewhat tangential story of the European spice trade. in a later chapter, as fascinating as this information is, it doesn't come together that nicely as a book. Rather it feels more like the author had some stories he wanted to tell, and works the theme a bit to fit them in.
It's fascinating and theatrically told, if a bit hodgepodge.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ssm reader
- 2022-02-16
Informative
Informative
I found the content very interesting.
I enjoyed learning about so many things.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deb Ransom
- 2021-01-07
Storyteller extraordinaire
Bill Bryson, seemingly effortlessly, takes us through the development of home throughout history. I am fascinated by the way he weaves the tales of history in such an engaging way regarding a very simple subject. His humour and curiosity are peppered throughout this book, keeping you entertained while educating you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JN
- 2021-01-01
Unexpected Pleasure!
I can't recommend this book highly enough.! It was a stab in the dark. I had not heard of the book or the author, I simply wanted a book that wasn't a novel, wasn't political and wasn't some heavy tome seeped in Egyptian or Grecian History. I have all those. What a pleasant surprise! Beautifully written and researched by Bill Bryson and so well narrated. I loved it... it's like a treasure trove of "wows" and "oohs and ahhs". History has never looked so interesting. Congratulations Mr. Bryson, I will recommend this to everyone I can think of . I will also explore your other books now....but think that this will always be my favorite. Thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-07-27
A Fascinating Conversation
This is a book of history of mainly England and the USA that is a refreshing departure from the usual narrative of politics and wars. Using the author's own house as a jumping-off point, Bryson takes the listener on a meandering discourse on the engineering, science, and social attitudes and beliefs that shaped everyday life for people in both countries, and through their influence, much of the world. It is absolutely fascinating and made me thankful to be living in modern times! Bill Bryson narrates himself. Although he is no voice actor, his voice is pleasant and because of the nature of the book, he is the right choice as narrator.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 2010-10-15
Bryson does it again
So now I know where "Barking Mad" comes from and why we "sleep tight". Mr. Bryson yet again digs deep and blends history, science, philosophy and psychology into this wonderful entertaining book on how we got to the point today on how we live. I am so glad that Bill reads how own book. His tone and articlulation provides the proper sense of irony when needed.
Although some parts did make me squeamish (19th century surgery), I think it provides an excellent view of where our roots of “Home” comes from.
Thanks for the research, and the story. My only regret is that I’ve finished it (and all his books) and will have to wait another few years for his next book.
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38 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Tina
- 2010-10-23
Another wonderful Bryson
Another entertaining look at life and history from one of my favorite writers. Walking through the English parsonage he calls home, Bryson explores the history and uses of homes themselves, and many of the minutiae in them.
While parts of the bathroom and bedroom had a strong "ick" factor, his explorations of the 19th and early 20th century --explorers, inventors, thinkers, the Industrial Revolution --was fabulous, and invites the reader to read further about people or inventions of particular interest, with excellent bibliographic references.
Highly recommended.
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32 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Sharon
- 2010-10-22
Bill makes lint interesting
Really think Bill Bryson should have been a teacher. The kids would have absorbed everything because of the way he tells stories around history. Getting to know the inventors and the innovations by story telling helps remember them and keeps your interest. I love everything Bill writes. He is my number one author.
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Darwin8u
- 2014-11-14
Any journey with Bryson becomes a trip
Bryson uses his own family's Victorian parsonage to map out the history (mainly focused on the 18th - 20th Century) of the private life. His discussion of specific rooms ends up allowing Bryson to tangent off onto related topics as wide and varied as sex, family, sh!t, medicine, architecture, makeup, rope-making, etc.
This book is a movement through a house that allows Bryson to riff on people and ideas that are funny, iconic, and always peculiar. Bryson is amazing at flipping over a stone and telling three different stories about the stone, the flip, and the bugs hiding underneath the stone. He will also examine the shoe that flipped the stone and occasionally inserts his own experience with stones and shoes. This book follows his the model of his other expansive history: A Short History of Nearly Everything.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Andy
- 2010-10-22
a mile wide, an inch deep, and a ton of laughs
Another gem, written and narrated by this incredible entertainer. At Home is clearly an excuse for Bryson to share the most interesting and totally meaningless information with the listener. He does it in such an entertaining way, that I'll probably listen to the book a second time.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Annette
- 2010-12-21
how could i have missed this guy before?
Fantastic. Trivia with character and a good gob of anglophilia. I loved it. I just listened to two more of his books in a row. A good, informative time was had by all!
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Neuron
- 2013-04-15
Far from his best
I am a big fan of Bill Bryson. His writing has caused me to laugh out loud in inappropriate situations time and time again. All his travel books are absolutely amazing and I recommend them to anyone. I also liked his short history of nearly everything, which provides an enjoyable introduction to science history, albeit not as funny as his travel books.
At Home sounded like it would be a book both funny and educational at the same time. In addition I feel that there is a bias in my historical knowledge towards war and despair and I hoped that this book might remedy that.
So maybe my disappointment with this book, in part, stems from my high expectations. While I did indeed learn quite a lot about things that you don't get from traditional history books, the book seemed rather disorganized, which was frustrating. In addition only rarely did Bryon flex his fantastic humor. Why Bill? It is like having Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio in a movie wearing Burkas...
Right at the start of the book Bill rightly points out that history generally ignores all the things we do most of the time such as eating, sleeping, socializing, having sex, etc. With this introduction, Bill goes on to tell the story of the Paxton's Crystal Palace and the great exhibition for which it was built. The great exhibition is a good starting point because so many new inventions, which changed our lives but rarely makes it to the history books, were shown there for the first time.
Bryson then takes us on a 700 page tour of a house, with each room leading to different histories. For instance, you will hear about the construction of the Eifel tower, a completely useless construction, which still was deemed a better project than another proposition - a 70m high guillotine. We learn about Magellan's voyage across the pacific where his crew (those few that survived) ate rat droppings and sawdust. We learn that burial grounds were lacking and that corpses were more or less piled on top of each other. The place where the national gallery stands, 70.000 bodies are estimated to have been buried.
Yet another fascinating story is the one about lighting and how people used to walk streets in complete darkness which was convenient for criminals but not for ordinary persons. Then came the time of the oil lamps which caused innumerable fires as well as wide spread whale deaths. At last electricity was discovered and the light bulb was invented, with one light bulb providing lighting equivalent to numerous candles. What fantastic progress! I think it is difficult to imagine what life must have been like before. Of course there were the all to common anti-progress people who said that electricity was dangerous and would spell our surmise, when Edison assistant accidentally electrocuted himself they became even surer of them selves. One does not have to look far to find comparative situations today.
Bryson will provide the reader with many more snippets of interesting information, which may come in handy at the next cocktail party, here are a few of my favorites…
• In the past chairs were always placed up against the wall (to avoid tripping over them in the dark) and therefore chair manufacturer did not paint the back of chairs.
• Peppercorn is actually a dried wine, which used to be an immensely valuable commodity.
• Mice can squeeze through 10mm cracks and are everywhere humans are
• Rats do enter houses via the toilet
• Before the invention of synthetic fertilizer, bird droppings were the favored product, and Peru’s export largely consisted of bird sh*t.
• George Washington determined the location of Washington DC – near his plantation
• Approximately 300.000 people in the UK are seriously injured from falling in the stairs each year.
• Selling corpses to anatomists used to be a lucrative business
• Smallpox used to kill 400.000 individuals each year before a vaccine was made
• Queen Anne was so fat she had to be lifted out of Windsor castle using a crane
This list could of course be much longer, and if you decide to read the book you will get a lot of this. However, as already hinted at I think that the book lack a structure or a thread which is easily followed. The connection between the room that a chapter is focused on and what Bill writes about is sometimes… elusive
One of the things I found a bit disappointing was that the book is very centered on the UK and US, which I suppose I should have expected, but I really would like to know more about the everyday life of people in different cultures.
All in all, while this book may be a hit for some people it is not one that I would recommend to my friend. Rather go for one of Bill Bryson’s other books, which are frequently unforgettable.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Marie
- 2011-03-20
Very entertaining
I rated it 5 stars because it is one of those books that I want to listen to again and also share with friends. Bryson's style seems to meander around time and the house but it's funny enough to forgive. Not belly laugh funny, more mild chuckle funny. I listened to this with my husband on our way back from our honeymoon, as history buffs we found it entertaining.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mayte
- 2010-11-09
Wonderful
Loved it , Bryson has an unique way of making his books both entertaining and instructive.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 2011-03-21
Material deserves better narration
I have long been a fan of Bryson's writing, so my problem isn't so much with his material as it is with his narration. I know that he grew up in Iowa but lived abroad for many years, so maybe that explains the somewhat odd accent he has, as well as the British pronunciations of certain words. But what really frustrated me was his inability to pronounce "ing" at the end of a word--burning became "burneen," building became "buildeen," etc. I didn't dislike the book--and I certainly won't give up on Bryson as a writer because he can be delightful--but I wish that I'd read this one in its print version because Bryson's narration really started to grate on me.
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9 people found this helpful