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| © Bill Bryson |
Title: At Home: A Short History of Private Life
Author(s): Bill Bryson
Illustrator(s): Ø
ISBN(s): 978-0767919388 and 978-0385537285 (Hardcover), 978-0767919395 and 978-0375434310(Paperback), B003NX6Y56 (Kindle), 978-0739315262 (CD Audiobook)
Publisher’s Summary: With his signature wit, charm, and seemingly limitless knowledge, Bill
Bryson takes us on a room-by-room tour through his own house, using each
room as a jumping off point into 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.
Disclosure: A fan of historical nonfiction
recommended this book to me.
Summary and Review: At
Home is Bill Bryson’s
attempt to trace the evolution of The House in western culture. Each chapter discusses a different
physical part of a house: the hall, the kitchen, the bedroom, etc. These subdivisions make the book
readable and approachable; the hefty tome is effectively whittled down to many
small sections. The author is no
stranger to nonfiction writing, and this book is written with his usual
storytelling flair. The book’s
structure and the author’s prose make the book surprisingly readable and
humorous, even to stalwart fiction readers. A great leave-it-on-the-nightstand read, it doesn’t require
much of the reader and is ideal to pick up when you have a free moment. At
Home is social history at its best: facts and figures artfully blended with
anecdotes, humor, and stories. I
learned so much from this book, without ever having the sense that I was
studying or reading a textbook.
Highly recommended, even if you’ve never wondered why builders moved from wooden to stone houses, or what affect Eli Whitney's cotton gin had on the evolution of private life.
Down and Dirty: Very
little of concern. Though Bryson
frankly discusses more “private” elements of domestic life – bathroom habits,
for example – he does so with tact and academic language.
Age Recommendation:
The book is written for an adult audience, but might appeal to younger
readers as well. Ages 14+, with
advanced native-English reading proficiency. Lexile Unknown.
The 20: A history of
how modern western homes evolved.
Surprisingly readable and humorous with storytelling qualities. Highly recommended, ages 14+.
Readalikes: Food in History by Reay Tannahill, A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, Consider the Fork: A History of How we Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson.
Favorite Quotation(s) or Illustration(s):
"A plumped feather bed may have looked divine, but occupants quickly found
themselves sinking into a hard, airless fissure between billowy hills.
Support was on a lattice of ropes, which could be tightened with a key
when they began to sag (hence the expression "sleep tight")."
"...and it occurred to me, with the forcefulness of a thought
experienced in 360 degrees, that that's really what history mostly is:
masses of people doing ordinary things."
