In At Home, Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating books ever written about the history of the way we live. Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business - eating, sleeping and merely endeavouring to get more comfortable. And that most of the key discoveries for humankind can be found in the very fabric of the houses in which we live.This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, wandering from room to room considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way he did a prodigious amount of research on the history of anything and everything, from architecture to electricity, from food preservation to epidemics, from the spice trade to the Eiffel Tower, from crinolines to toilets; and on the brilliant, creative and often eccentric minds behind them. And he discovered that, although there may seem to be nothing as unremarkable as our domestic lives, there is a huge amount of history, interest and excitement - and even a little danger - lurking in the corners of every home. Abridged and read by the author

Bill Bryson is known for exploring far-flung places, but he found inspiration for his most recent book after a hike through his own old, Victorian house in England. At Home: A Short History of Private Life explores the history of domesticity — from making beds, to the long history of hallways.

Bill Bryson's At Home shows that if it's quirky history you like there really is no place like home, says Judith Flanders

Two decades after his first book about Britain became a bestseller, Bill Bryson embarked once again on a journey round the island he has made his home. Our countryside is now under his spotlight.

The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century and has sold over 2 million copies. 'Truly impressive...It's hard to imagine a better rough guide to science.' Guardian 'A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide' The Times Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand 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. Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry and particle physics, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. As a result, A Short History of Nearly Everything reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.; 672 pages; Published: 16/06/2016

In these pages, the beloved Bill Bryson gives us a fascinating history of the modern home, taking us on a room-by-room tour through his own house and using each room to explore the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture. Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and his sheer prose fluency makes At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

ISBN At Home. Bucheinband-Typ: Taschenbuch, Unterstützte Sprachen: Englisch, Geschrieben von: Bill Bryson. Breite: 127 mm, Tiefe: 41 mm, Höhe: 198 mm.

Highlights In 1995, Iowa native Bill Bryson took a motoring trip around Britain to explore that green and pleasant land. About the Author: Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods (now a major motion picture starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte), Notes from a Small Island, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, A Short History of Nearly Everything (which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize), The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, At Home, and One Summer. 400 Pages Travel, Essays & Travelogues Description About the Book 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, 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. With his instinct for the funny and quirky, and his eye for the idiotic, the bewildering, the appealing, and the ridiculous, he offers insights into all that is best and worst about Britain today. Book Synopsis In 1995, Iowa native Bill Bryson took a motoring trip around Britain to explore that green and pleasant land. The uproarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, is one of the most acute portrayals of the United Kingdom ever written. Two decades later, Bryson--now a British citizen--set out again to rediscover his adopted country. In these pages, he follows a straight line through the island--from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath--and shows us every pub, stone village, and human foible along the way. Whether he is dodging cow attacks in Torcross, getting lost in the H&M on Kensington High Street, or--more seriously--contemplating the future of the nation's natural wonders in the face of aggressive development, Bryson guides us through the old and the new with vivid detail and laugh-out-loud humor. Irreverent, endearing, and always hilarious, The Road to Little Dribbling is filled with Bill Bryson's deep knowledge and love of his chosen home. Review Quotes "Wonderfully engaging. . . . Bryson is a keen observer of what's amusing, ironic and absurd." --USA Today "Riveting. . . . Bryson is a master. . . . Almost as satisfying as being there yourself." --Entertainment Weekly "Bryson is a jovial companion and his typically funny self." --Chicago Tribune "A cheeky romp through Britain's heart . . . affectionately celebrates, and devilishly skewers." --San Francisco Chronicle "Such a pleasure to once again travel the lanes and walking paths of Britain in the company of Bill Bryson! . . . It's a rare book that will make me laugh out loud. This one did, over and over." --Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City "Genuinely hilarious. . . . At Bryson's age, he can (and does) feel entitled not only to be done with such ugliness, but also to express his displeasure in ways most of us only dream of daring to do. And when he sees beauty and wonder in the world, he is rhapsodic--even evangelical." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Bryson's capacity for wonder at the beauty of his adopted homeland seems to have only grown with time." --The Washington Post "Charming. . . . Traveling with Bryson is fun because he never sugarcoats the hassles, the overpriced crummy food that runs abundant in touristy places--and the absolute delight of finding unexpected sights or happenstance meetings. . . . Here's hoping Bryson remains cranky and curious for many years to come." --The Christian Science Monitor "Bryson is an entertaining travel companion. . . . He writes lyrically on the monuments at Stonehenge and Avebury. He is great on the joy of walking through the English countryside." --The Wall Street Journal "A gloriously funny read. . . . Bryson has no equal." --Daily Express "A funny and pleasant travelogue. Bryson can capture a place memorably with just a sharp phrase or two. . . . Wry and winning." --NPR "A prolonged and hilarious love letter describing Mr. Bryson's 40-year relationship with his adoptive country. . . . A joyous tribute to British patience, stoicism, sense of fairness. . . . Generous, funny, modest and admirable . . . packed with great writing." --The Washington Times "Fascinating. . . . A worthy successor and sequel to his classic Notes From A Small Island. . . . You could hardly ask for a better guide to Great Britain than Bill Bryson." --The Miami Herald "The history of a love affair, the very special relationship between Bryson and Britain. We remain lucky to have him." --Financial Times "Is it the funniest travel book I've read all year? Of course it is." --Michael Kerr, The Daily Telegraph (London) "Everybody loves Bill Bryson. . . . He's clever, witty, entertaining, a great companion . . . his research is on show here, producing insight, wisdom and startling nuggets of information." --The Independent on Sunday About the Author Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods (now a major motion picture starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte), Notes from a Small Island, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, A Short History of Nearly Everything (which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize), The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, At Home, and One Summer. He lives in England with his wife. www.billbrysonbooks.com

A lot happened in the summer of 1927: Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic, Babe Ruth was closing in on his home run record, and President Coolidge took a three month vaca…

In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. 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; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and 'Ooh lovely' at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and Gardeners' Question Time. Notes from a Small Island was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published, and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain, going on to sell over two million copies.; 384 pages; Published: 30/07/2015

As the winner of this year's Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year award is announced, we pick the 20 most inspiring travel books of all time

Bill Bryson’s latest is less a tome about home than a poem about the known.

Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the bestselling travel book ever, and was also voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.Now, to mark the twentieth anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey round Britain to see what has changed.Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more. Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.

Explore M&R Glasgow's 6955 photos on Flickr!

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson This is my second Bill Bryson Sticky Book out of 25 so far. When I decided last night that his book would be the Sticky Book for today, I had actually forgotten that I ran "A Short History of Nearly Everything" a few months

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