At Home

A Short History of Private Life

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Bill Bryson

Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of the most beloved authors of our time—more than six million copies of his books have been sold in this country alone - a fascinating excursion into the history behind the place we call home.

“Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.”

Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”

The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has fig­ured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.

Bill Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and he is a master at turning the seemingly isolated or mundane fact into an occasion for the most diverting exposi­tion imaginable. His wit and sheer prose fluency make At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

©2010 Bill Bryson (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"There are many guilty pleasures, from Bryson's droll prose - "What really turned the Victorians to bathing, however, was the realization that it could be gloriously punishing" - to the many tantalizing glimpses behind closed doors at aristocratic English country houses. In demonstrating how everything we take for granted, from comfortable furniture to smoke-free air, went from unimaginable luxury to humdrum routine, Bryson shows us how odd and improbable our own lives really are." ( Publishers Weekly)

A really interesting listen

I really enjoyed this book. There are so many bits and pieces of information in here that I'm a little disappointed that I won't remember them all. While I sometimes got lost trying to connect a fact to the room he was describing that hardly mattered to my enjoyment of the book. Extremely well done and a joy to listen to - I'm sure I'll find my way back to it again at some point.

Love love love

All Bryson are my fav but this is my very fav…so far. A history of the home, and everything else touching domestic life. Great to listen to while cooking dinner.

Bill Bryson GOAT

Bill Bryson will turn you into a fan of anything he starts writing about. Greatest of All Time.

Information

I like Bill Bryson a great deal. However this may be the book I like the least. Previously I read Into the Woods which I love. This book seems more rambling and lacks a personal narrative. Which caught me by surprise.

Worth the read/listen as all of his books

A great history of the domestic world and private life. So many insightful stories and pieces from history that helps us connect with the items, words, and rooms that we take for granted day in and day out.

Excellent and entertaining!

Informative and filled with humorous and surprising anecdotes, that debunk much popularly held views or notions.

Material deserves better narration

I have long been a fan of Bryson's writing, so my problem isn't so much with his material as it is with his narration. I know that he grew up in Iowa but lived abroad for many years, so maybe that explains the somewhat odd accent he has, as well as the British pronunciations of certain words. But what really frustrated me was his inability to pronounce "ing" at the end of a word--burning became "burneen," building became "buildeen," etc. I didn't dislike the book--and I certainly won't give up on Bryson as a writer because he can be delightful--but I wish that I'd read this one in its print version because Bryson's narration really started to grate on me.

Highly recommended

I loved this book. I am a huge Bill Bryson fan and have read or listened to many of his other books. I really like his style and I enjoy his voice as a reader. I learned SO MANY things in this book! I found it fascinating to learn how homes (and their people) have evolved over the last several centuries. So many of the modern conveniences that we take for granted (hot water, indoor plumbing, beds without lice, clothes that don't threaten to kill you) are relatively recent innovations. There are so many topics here - diseases, childbirth, clothing, child labor laws, furniture, architecture - you name it. I think Bryson did a brilliant job (and lots of research) to make each story fascinating and relevant. It gave me a great perspective on how good we really have it! Highly recommend it.

Enjoyed the facts but ...

Bill, get another narrator. Bryson is an excellent story teller but his narration isn't great. The subject matter is very interesting however.

Wonderful surprise

Bill Bryson wrote a wonderful history of his home. I now look at my old farmhouse with curious eyes; and what a pleasant surprise to learn the origins of popular sayings such as "the lime light" and"boardroom". I have enjoyed many of Bill Bryson's past books, but "At Home" is now my favorite.