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Shakespeare
- The World as a Stage
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In the best-selling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe. Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
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Not Bryson’s best
- By Chelsea on 08-10-2019
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The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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Journeys in English
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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This highly entertaining BBC Radio 4 series is written and presented by Bill Bryson and based on his best-selling book, Mother Tongue. In it, he romps through the history of Britain to reveal how English became such an infuriatingly complex - but ultimately world-beating - language.
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Interesting subject but poorly mastered
- By Rachel C. on 01-03-2021
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The Commonwealth of Thieves
- By: Thomas Keneally
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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A lively history of the 'First Fleet' which took convicts from Britain to Australia in 1787; Sydney's early years as 'an open-air prison'; and the colonisation of New South Wales.
The story of modern Australia begins in 18th-century Britain, where people were hanged for petty offences but crime was rife and the gaols were bursting. From this situation was born the Sydney experiment, with criminals perceived to be damaging British society transported to Sydney, an 'open air prison with walls 14,000 miles thick'.
Eleven ships were dispatched in 1781 and arrived in Australia after eight hellish months at sea. Tom Keneally describes the first four years of the 'thief colony' and how, despite the escapes, the floggings, the murders and the rebellions, it survived against the odds to create a culture which would never have been tolerated in its homeland but which, in Australia, became part of the identity of a new and audacious nation.
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A most vivid account of Australian settlement
- By The Nautrual on 21-09-2020
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One Summer
- America 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
One Summer: America, 1927, is the new book by Britain’s favourite writer of narrative nonfiction, Bill Bryson. Narrated by the man himself, One Summer takes you to the summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world forever. In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day, a semi-crazed sculptor with a plan to carve four giant heads into a mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown, and finished it as the most famous man on Earth.
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A Summer more or less
- By Cainsy on 17-05-2015
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The Road to Little Dribbling
- More Notes From a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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 best-selling travel book ever and was voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain. Now, to mark the 20th anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey around Britain to see what has changed.
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Typical Bryson
- By Jan on 22-10-2015
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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the best-selling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe. Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
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Not Bryson’s best
- By Chelsea on 08-10-2019
-
The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
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Journeys in English
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This highly entertaining BBC Radio 4 series is written and presented by Bill Bryson and based on his best-selling book, Mother Tongue. In it, he romps through the history of Britain to reveal how English became such an infuriatingly complex - but ultimately world-beating - language.
-
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Interesting subject but poorly mastered
- By Rachel C. on 01-03-2021
-
The Commonwealth of Thieves
- By: Thomas Keneally
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A lively history of the 'First Fleet' which took convicts from Britain to Australia in 1787; Sydney's early years as 'an open-air prison'; and the colonisation of New South Wales.
The story of modern Australia begins in 18th-century Britain, where people were hanged for petty offences but crime was rife and the gaols were bursting. From this situation was born the Sydney experiment, with criminals perceived to be damaging British society transported to Sydney, an 'open air prison with walls 14,000 miles thick'.
Eleven ships were dispatched in 1781 and arrived in Australia after eight hellish months at sea. Tom Keneally describes the first four years of the 'thief colony' and how, despite the escapes, the floggings, the murders and the rebellions, it survived against the odds to create a culture which would never have been tolerated in its homeland but which, in Australia, became part of the identity of a new and audacious nation.
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A most vivid account of Australian settlement
- By The Nautrual on 21-09-2020
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One Summer
- America 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
One Summer: America, 1927, is the new book by Britain’s favourite writer of narrative nonfiction, Bill Bryson. Narrated by the man himself, One Summer takes you to the summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world forever. In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day, a semi-crazed sculptor with a plan to carve four giant heads into a mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown, and finished it as the most famous man on Earth.
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A Summer more or less
- By Cainsy on 17-05-2015
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The Road to Little Dribbling
- More Notes From a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 best-selling travel book ever and was voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain. Now, to mark the 20th anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey around Britain to see what has changed.
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Typical Bryson
- By Jan on 22-10-2015
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Cunk on Everything
- The Encyclopedia Philomena
- By: Philomena Cunk
- Narrated by: Philomena Cunk
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the olden days, people used to learn about things from encyclopedias. And that was really good, because you could read it, and learn it, then you could stop worrying about thinking. But now, with the Internet and more people and science and research, there's just too much knowledge - more every year - and it's overwhelming. So, after years of asking the big questions - like 'what did people do before evolution?' and 'what is clocks?' - intrepid reporter and visionary philosopher Philomena Cunk is bringing the encyclopedia back.
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Pretty Funny
- By Josh Button on 27-06-2023
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The Templars
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful - and most secretive - of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story - encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall - has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists. Unabridged edition read by Dan Jones.
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‘The Templars’, by Dan Jones
- By lone on 24-04-2018
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The Fry Chronicles
- An Autobiography
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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This dazzling memoir promises to be a courageously frank, honest and poignant read. It will detail some of Fry's most turbulent and least-well-known years, with writing that will excite you, make you laugh uproariously, move you, inform you, and, above all, surprise you.
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Okay, if pedantic
- By Michael on 23-11-2015
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Macbeth: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Macbeth: A Novel brings the intricacy and grit of the historical thriller to Shakespeare’s tale of political intrigue, treachery, and murder. In this full-length novel written exclusively for audio, authors A. J. Hartley and David Hewson rethink literature’s most infamous married couple, grounding them in a medieval Scotland whose military and political upheavals are as stark and dramatic as the landscape in which they are played.
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Brilliant transposition of the story of Macbeth!
- By Nathan on 28-07-2021
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Neither Here Nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
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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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Unruly
- A History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England's monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear to us today in their portraits.
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Really Worth it
- By Mr. William Wright on 04-12-2023
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The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
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Epic
- By Anonymous User on 22-05-2023
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Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
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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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Another excellent Bryson book
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-2022
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Agent Zigzag
- The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman: Lover, Traitor, Hero, Spy
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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One December night in 1942, a Nazi parachutist landed in a Cambridgeshire field. His mission: to sabotage the British war effort. His name was Eddie Chapman, but he would shortly become MI5's Agent Zigzag. Dashing and suave, courageous and unpredictable, Chapman was by turns a traitor, a hero, a villain and a man of conscience. But, as his spymasters and many lovers often wondered, who was the real Eddie Chapman?
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Another brilliant true spy classic...
- By Wombat on 28-11-2023
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Watership Down
- By: Richard Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver’s vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.
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17 hrs and 31 mins of pleasure
- By Alison on 02-07-2019
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A Walk in the Woods
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
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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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I love Bryson narrated Bryson books.
- By Dwayne on 03-05-2016
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The Edgar Allan Poe Complete Works Collection - Stories, Poems, Novels, and Essays
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Peter Noble
- Length: 59 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Edgar Allan Poe was a writer, poet, editor and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre, and is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction.
Publisher's Summary
What listeners say about Shakespeare
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ballina Beach
- 11-04-2016
Enjoyable, fun, & informative
Bill Bryson has done a terrific job distilling Shakespeare scholarship into a very enjoyable 5 hours. He covers all the big issues & even the silly ones (did Shakespeare really write his plays?). His chapters on the life in London & theatre- going public were fabulous. We even learnt what people could buy for snacks (apples, pears, nuts, ale). Highly recommend this.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Nick B
- 08-06-2018
A snappy summary of all there is to know.
There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the identity of William Shakespeare. Bill Bryson does his best to wade through the muck and present the known details. It’s a short and sweet look at a man who is possibly the greatest writer ever, and yet we know so little. Others have commented on Bill’s narration style... I enjoyed his presentation. A great listen.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-11-2020
Shakespeare for novice
I found this book highly entertaining and informative. 400 years peeled back so the reader could relive the time of Shakespeare.
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1 person found this helpful
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- gilbert s mane
- 25-03-2018
Informative, insightful, amusing
A wonderful addition to both the Bryson oeuvre and the massive corpus of Shakespeareana. A Very refreshing winnowing of all the conjecture and supposition surrounding Shakespeare, down to the actual known facts. This in itself is marvellous, but Bill Bryson’s characteristic charm and lightness of touch make it an especial pleasure. Highly recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 30-10-2023
The Bard facts
In this short outline biography of Shakespeare the author sets out to do something quite difficult and achieves it superbly.
As he has demonstrated in his other books Bill Bryson has a remarkable ability to tackle big subjects in a concise, intelligent way. He has an amused lightness of touch that engages the reader (listener in this case) without ever trivialising the subject. That ability is on full display here as he takes us through the few facts known about Shakespeare's life and work, and all the major speculations that have attached themselves to him. Reading his own work Bryson has created an audio version that fascinates without ever straining for effect.
Both an ideal introduction to Shakespeare and a great starting point for further study. A genuinely exemplary work.
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- Helen Engstrom
- 28-09-2023
A great writer by a great wit
What could be better than Will Shakespeare by Bill Bryson? Full of fascinating and amusing detail this short biography is informative and interesting. A delightful journey through Elizabethan London and the theatre world.
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- Russell
- 11-10-2009
Not the book you might think it is...
This is a book about Shakespeare the man (and the times he lived in) - it is not a guide to his works. But given that qualification, it is an intriguing account. It flows easily into the ear, constantly asking interesting questions, and answering many. But in the end, we are still left wondering how any person could grasp so much and penetrate so deeply into humankind.
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3 people found this helpful
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- bill
- 24-03-2013
another Bryson best
If you could sum up Shakespeare in three words, what would they be?
a good read
Have you listened to any of Bill Bryson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
as good as 'at home' also excellent work
Any additional comments?
keep up the good work Bill
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1 person found this helpful
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- Norma Miles
- 18-02-2022
"Born in Latin but dies in English."
Bill Bryson, with witty, journalistic style, turns his spotlight onto Shakespeare, the wordsmith playwright who introduced so many words and phrases into the English language, many of which are still in use today, and about whom so many words, in turn, have already been written. This is not really a biography: so little is known about the man, even down to what he looked like. Instantly recognisable, yet there are only three known portraits of him, two made years after his death and the third, a painting, which quite possibly isn't even of him. Nor is this an analysis of his works, though these are touched upon, of course. Instead it is a trip around the man, what little is known, the time and place in which he lived, the 'academic obsession' he has.become and the many, many others who have written about him.
Always written with a light touch and an eye for the curious, Bryson's book is short at only about five and one half hours and constantly entertaining as well as informative. He reads his book himself, his s. pleasant and brisk, a smile behind the text.
Thin book is a joy, as is also the short interview with the author which follows.
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- Gary
- 26-10-2020
Great book, a must for fans of Bill Bryson
The books information is put in a lighthearted interesting way to make it easy to understand while also having Bill Bryson’s fantastic voice to listen too. Definitely a fantastic audio book :D
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- Steven
- 27-12-2011
Wit wittled down by voice
As a Bryson fan I have thoroughly enjoyed his books and was looking forward to his insightful and irreverent treatment of this noble subject. He lived up to expectations with a rather concise account of the life, times and work of Shakespeare with generous dollops of sarcasm, humour and derision thrown in. It would have been a splendid piece of work had Bryson settled for a professional narrator (as in Short History of Nearly Everything). Instead Bryson's clipped, clumsy and poorly enunciated voice is intrusive and jarring. What a pity. I hope the publishers consider another edition with a trained actor as narrator.
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- Emily
- 12-10-2007
cuts through the rubbish
If shakespeare interests you in any way this book is wonderful. Bill Bryson cuts through the mountains of information about the bard and gives you the facts. It is a facinating and informative piece of work which is totally and uttterly enjoyable!
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35 people found this helpful
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- Sara
- 22-11-2007
Good Summary
This is a good book for most people who have an interest in Shakespeare. Bryson has put together all that we actually know about Shakespeare and discussed the well known theories that surround him. Well written and informative whilst being interesting and entertaining, as all Bryson's books are.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Malcolm
- 27-01-2009
Another side of Bill Bryson
I have, for a long time, been a 'fan' of the writing of Bill Bryson, however his book Shakespeare not only informs the reader/listener about the life of William Shakespeare, but, also highlights just want a wonderful writer Bill Bryson.
I have most of Bryson's works and this one is as good as the others.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did
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10 people found this helpful
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- LilyRose
- 20-12-2013
No conspiracy theories here!
An excellent, straightforward guide to Shakespeare's life. Quite brief, but Bryson lays out everything we know about Shakespeare and the world in which he lived without any supposition or extravagant theories clouding the tale. We don't know very much about Shakespeare, but then we don't know very much about any of the Elizabethan or Stuart playwrights - so little survives from that period. Bryson deals with Shakespeare in his context admirably. He resists the urge to speculate or guess about anything we don't know for sure. It's a fascinating listen, and he despatches the idea that Shakespeare did not write the plays with clarity and conviction. The few details we do have about the writer's life are laid out well and this is a really interesting and enjoyable book.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Nick Southorn
- 05-10-2013
Hurrah for Bryson
Where does Shakespeare rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Very highly. As always, Bryson's dulcet tones and arresting wit turns the otherwise inaccessible enigma that is the world of Shakespeare (however you spell it) into an engaging journey. Light is cast on the sometimes convoluted prose of this highly regarded scribe, and goes someway to help the uninitiated understand who Shakespeare is.
What did you like best about this story?
The format of Bryson's informal biography which has the investigative diligence of a journalist forces the listener to challenge more oblique concepts rather than the purely linear biographies one sometimes encounters.
Would you listen to another book narrated by Bill Bryson?
Yes. Bryson has a soothing tone and uses simple but eloquent language - he isn't one of the insufferable lexicon wielding authors who use language to encrypt the message.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes. But then having kids means it will never happen
Any additional comments?
Highly recommended. Thanks Bill
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7 people found this helpful
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- Charlie P
- 31-03-2011
Brevity is the soul of wit
As Bill Bryson points out this is a short book! Why? Because there are so few confirmed facts about about The Bard. That, however, hasn't stopped scholars and academics alike speculating on the most surprising details of Shakespeare's life. Bryson sets out on a fact finding mission with his usual wit, the results are as entertaining as they are informative. I loved it!
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6 people found this helpful
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- Ian S.
- 09-01-2022
Billy B’s voice sped up?
I have listened to all of billy b’s audiobooks. I am pretty confident that his voice has been sped up for this performance.
He is awesome as always, but i am sure his voice has been sped up in post production. Very (but subtly) annoying if this is the case.
Still a big fan, great book and you cant beat his voice.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Chris Lilly
- 26-11-2014
Easy, not stupid, introduction to Shakespeare
Effortless scholarship, warm and engaging delivery, fascinating topic. What's not to like? Bill Bryson takes his 'ordinary bloke' persona deep into the thickets of Shakespearean scholarship, gives all the facts, of which there are not a lot, punctures a bunch of theories many of which are examples of the High Stupid, and leaves me wanting more Bryson AND more Shakespeare.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 30-09-2015
Shakespeare
An interesting book, well read by Bryson. I learnt a lot without having to concentrate too hard - exactly what I want from an audiobook
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Story

- Amazon Customer
- 12-10-2017
Shakespeare
This audiobook went through Shakespeare's life: what do we know and how do we know it? What are guesses / assumptions.
I really liked it.
One minor niggle: the chapters do not line up with the chapters in the book. I got the feeling that it was converted from CD and each audiobook chapter equals one CD. Odd.
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