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At Home: A Short History of Private Life

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About this listen

Here is Bill Bryson’s entertaining and illuminating book about the history of the way we live - complete, unabridged and read by the author.

Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote 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. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way, he researched 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 he discovered that there is a huge amount of history, interest and excitement - and even a little danger - lurking in the corners of every home.

Where A Short History of Nearly Everything was a sweeping panorama of the world, the universe and everything, At Home peers at private life through a microscope. 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.

©2010 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Thought-Provoking Funny Witty Suspenseful Imperialism War

Editor reviews

A tremendous look at the very dense but often overlooked history of ordinary, everyday life can be found in the brilliant audiobook At Home: A Short History of Private Life, written and narrated by award-winning and appraised author Bill Bryson. This book delivers the perfect combination of lighthearted entertainment and thoroughly researched facts. Bryson’s beautifully constructed prose brings even the most seemingly insignificant of household items to an entirely exciting front. Listeners will find themselves gazing far more closely and with much more appreciation at the small items that make up much of their daily life. Available now from Audible.
All stars
Most relevant
If you can get throgh a lengthy section on American houses, the rest is solid gold. A mine of really interesting information.

Heaps of detail

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Bill Bryson has long been my favourite author, but of course mostly for his travel and 'personal history' books. His specific subject books like 'Shakespeare' and 'Mother Tongue' can be quite entetaining, but usually so jam-packed with facts and figures that they can be regarded as text or study books rather than light-hearted reading.
'At Home' covers so much ground that I am amazed at his ability to collate so many interesting facts and report them in such an informal, chatty way. There is the occasional amusing aside while reporting the factual information, but largely this book is best read in short bites with full concentration so that the reader can digest the richness of the content without getting too glassy-eyed at the relentless delivery of facts. Personally I loved this book, so much so that I have also bought the printed version to refer back to specific passages when the audio book is not available.

Hugely informative and well-paced

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A fantastic history of all the elements of a home that we take for granted or have never even considered before. Delving into the history of the home in a fascinating and captivating way, discussing the ins and outs of the home in fine detail. Definitely recommended.

A fascinating read

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if you want to know the history and origins of most of the rooms in your house... along with Bill's amazing depth and attention to detail, all narrated in a dry, easy to listen to style... you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

loved it! fascinating British history

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As usual., Bill Bryson goes off piste and provides a wealth of fascinating information that is often only loosely connected, but which is nonetheless endlessly informative and enjoyable.

Great book.

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