Bill Bryson applies his irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit and masterful storytelling to deliver 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 battles and wars than to 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.So he embarked on a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, wandering from room to room to write a history of the world without leaving home . Along the way he did a prodigious amount of research on the history of anything and everything, from architecture to electricity, 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.

Author Biography

Bill Bryson is much loved for his bestselling travel books, from The Lost Continent to Down Under, but Notes from a Small Island has earned a particularly special place in the nation's heart (a national poll for World Book Day in 2003 voted it the book that best represents Britain). His acclaimed A Short History of Nearly Everything won the Aventis Prize for Science Books and the Descartes Science Communication Prize. He has now returned to live in the UK with his wife and family. www.billbryson.co.uk