A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599

...you will love this book. Shapiro looks at Shakespeare through a new lens and focuses his and our attention on his most creatively productive year. He helps us understand what shaped the man who wrote Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet in one amazing burst of energy.
This is a fresh and refreshing look at both the four plays and the man and his times. I reccommend this listen for anyone who loves the Bard and/or anyone who loves these four plays. The 45 minutes of excerpts from these plays by the great actors is a nice bonus at the end.

It's all my fault for not noticing--but this is a much abridged version on audio. The reading--even though performed well (and presumably cut) by the author himself--leaves out most of the more fascinating parts of the superb book. So, I'd say this is one to do that old-fashioned thing with--read it!

A terrific look at a pivotal year in Shakespeare's life: 1599. The year he wrote four key plays: Henry V, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet. Shapiro does a wonderful job of placing Shakespeare in his historical context, with the construction of the Globe Theatre, the rebellion of Essex after the Ireland campaign, and the aging Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare leapt forward in artistic creativity and in terms of pushing out the boundaries of dramatic writing.

Shapiro does an excellent job in narrating his own book. The last 45 minutes of the recording are key passages from the four plays discussed in the text.

I have read another book by this author. It is probably a good thing this one was abridged, given the author's tendency to long-windedness. This book was facinating, laying out the works of WS from 1599 in the context of the time.