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)

Not exactly what I was expecting

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the book and the information but I did not always see how the information related to the room that Bill was discussing.

Would you recommend At Home to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, if they like mostly British history.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Did At Home inspire you to do anything?

I made me thankful I live in the 21st century.

Grand Perspective AND Cocktail Party Trivia

I would give this book 6 stars out of 5, if I could. I found it interesting, entertaining, and enlightening. Every day I would learn something new that stuck with me all day and I wanted to share with people. The machinations of rodents, the glimpses of Victorian society and life, the etymology of words and phrases - why we "make a bed" for instance - it's all too good. The topics of servitude, medicine, hygiene and human waste are pretty intense, but so chock full of eye-opening perspective and morsels of interest that every time I had to stop listening, I couldn't wait until I could pick it up again. Mr. Bryson is a clever and gifted prose writer as well. I've read about 200 books in my life, and this is in the top ten.

Fun and inspiring

I enjoyed this book SO much! I like Bill Bryson as the narrator, he has a very pleasant accent and voice.
I was fascinated by so much of the history and information that he put forth, I kept being inspired to pause and then go check out pictures on Google of the places he was describing and researching on my own some of the stories he told.
The only thing negative I have to say is that without the printed words in front of you, figuring out how to spell some of the names and places was a challenge when I went to look them up!
I feel enriched and enlightened by this book, Bryson makes history come alive and makes it fascinating!

The last half is worth more then twice the first

The modern world is entirely an Anglo American creation and this book expertly dissects its Anglo birth. I do not believe anyone may call themselves adequately educated who has not read or heard this book.

The author has, at books end, prematurely swallowed the global warming theology but wisely refrained from pronouncing an imminent extinction of all life on earth.

Definitely NOT boring, but...

I've read and love Bill Bryson's books, and this one is packed with information, fun, repulsive, fascinating all at once. But here's the but... His narration is taking away my ability to enjoy this book. He sounds either like an American trying on a British accent, or a Brit attempting a bad imitation of an American one. I feel a little disrespectful even saying this, and I don't doubt that he really speaks this way, having lived in England, but I keep telling myself to listen to what he's saying rather than how he's saying it. I will finish this audiobook, but I'm going to reread it in print.

Disappointed

I love Bill Bryson and I love to hear him narrate his own work. That said, this book is my least favorite of all of his writings. It lacks a lot of the humor and is just plain boring throughout much of the book. The premise does not hold well together. If you want to experience Bryson, read anything except this book.

There's so much history in a home

What did you like best about this story?

I loved listening to Bill Bryson talking about all the things that came together to form the modern home.

Which scene was your favorite?

The telephone. I keep remembering how someone who would not be chosen for it today redesigned the phone from the candlestick style to the one most people remember and may still have. That story keeps popping back up in my mind for some reason, and I think it's so neat.

Any additional comments?

There were moments where there was so much history that I forgot what the topic was, but there weren't many of those moments.

I greatly enjoy Bill Bryson's narration. He has mannerisms and inflections that I might not be able to catch if I were reading the book.

It's just a really good book.

Take a shot each time he says “palatial”

I was expecting more of an analysis of what you would find... AT HOME; tell me about various accoutrements and furnishings like cabinets, dining tables, doorbells, or even larger stuff like windows, garages, porches, cellars, fences, archways, etc - maybe a history of carpeting, cultural significance fine china, kitchen table sizes throughout the world, invention of the washing machine or refrigerator and the of use of cellars (among various other major omissions).


Was rather surprised, if not wholly disappointed, by the main and nearly sole focus on British social history.

Short history of things in author's house

A good listen, and ultimately interesting, but I was mistaken in thinking this was a history of the house in a generic sense. This book is really a series of chapters with various stories based on rooms in the author's English clergyman's house. Because of this, everything is very Western-focused and mostly contained within the past 200 years. Nothing wrong with any of that, but if you were looking for a more encompassing history of housing, you may be put off, especially by the first few chapters. Topics range from the Western Clergy's role in society to the history of the telephone. The author does a good job of tying stories together and referring to previous and upcoming topics. Overall, if you're not looking for anything specific, and ok with the limited scope, I recommend the audiobook version of this book.

Great Bill Bryson, a little meandering though

I love Bill Bryson books and audiobooks. His magnum opus, A Short History of Nearly Everything, is superior to this title, though they are clearly different beasts. I really enjoyed his Shakespeare book as well. That said, he is a good narrator of his own books and this book is a good listen. I would rather listen than read this one, as it does seem a bit padded or meandering, but overall a good journey.