Books by Bill Bryson

In the company of his friend Stephen Katz (last seen in the bestselling Neither Here nor There), Bill Bryson set off to hike the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world.

The author describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. This title is about his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us.

It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life - a large portion of it quite deadly.

Vi går gennem hele livet i en og samme krop, og alligevel ved de fleste af os stort set intet om, hvordan vores krop fungerer, og hvad der sker inden i os. Dette gør den formidable videnskabsformidler Bill Bryson, forfatter til bl.a. bestselleren En kort historie om næsten alt, noget ved. I Kroppen – en guide for indehavere tager han os med på en dybt fascinerende rejse fra top til tå og anskueliggør det vidunder, vores legeme er. Bogen er rigt illustreret og sprængfuld af viden om de mest forunderlige ting ved vores fysik, og den er, som forfatterens tidligere bøger, skrevet så ligetil og underholdende, at alle kan og får lyst til, at være med.

Denne fascinerende enmandsfærd gennem virkeligheden, videnskaben og videbegærligheden - fra Big Bang til menneskets molekyler og fra galaksernes grænseland til atomernes afkroge - er med god grund blevet en international bestseller. Her er bogen, der besvarer alle de allermest nærliggende naturvidenskabelige spørgsmål, så enhver kan forstå det. »Formidlet så fremragende, at enhver læser må frydes, undres og undertiden endda grine højlydt undervejs« ***** Lars Henrik Aagaard, Berlingske Tidende Bill Bryson er ikke meget for at rejse, siger han selv. Til gengæld er han inden for hjemmets fire vægge umættelig i sin nysgerrighed efter at forstå den fascinerende verden omkring ham, inden i ham, deroppe og dernede. Historien om næsten alting er resultatet af hans enmandsfærd gennem virkeligheden, videnskaben og videbegærligheden, hvor han forsøger at begribe alt, der er sket og som findes - lige fra Big Bang til menneskets molekyler, og fra galaksernes grænseland til atomernes afkroge. Hvad han ser på sin færd, skildrer han i et livfuldt og dagligdags sprog, og han besvarer præcis de spørgsmål, som enhver anden interesseret person kunne finde på at stille. Bogen er fyldt med facts, forklaringer og fortællinger - skrevet i et sprog, der vel er underholdende og dagligdags, men samtidig så præcist, som man har ret til at forlange det af førsterangs naturvidenskabelig formidling. Historien om næsten alting er netop den bog, som mange af os har gået og ventet på - hvor vi for første gang ikke behøver skamme os over at stille de allermest nærliggende naturvidenskabelige spørgsmål. Allerbedst er, at bogen også besvarer langt de fleste af dem ...

Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, with contributions from Richard Dawkins, Margaret Atwood, Richard Holmes, Martin Rees, Richard Fortey, Steve Jones, James Gleick and Neal Stephenson amongst others, this beautiful, lavishly illustrated book tells the story of science and the Royal Society, from 1660 to the present.

What does history really consists of? Centuries of people quietly going about their daily business. And where did all these normal activities take place? At home. Taking a journey around the rooms of his own house, an 1851 Norfolk rectory, the author discovered surprising connections in relation to the history of the way we live.

A celebration of the English countryside that focuses on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. It also presents an eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies.

Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line, 'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.' In this deeply funny and personal memoir, he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, in the curious world of 1950s Middle America.

Tells the story of how American arose out of the English language, and along the way, de-mythologizes his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', and more.

Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country.

The author has the rare knack of being out of his depth wherever he goes - even (perhaps especially) in the land of his birth. Whether discussing the strange appeal of breakfast pizza or the jaw-slackening direness of American TV, the author brings his brand of bemused wit to bear on that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life.

In summer 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest), a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and an unknown aviator named Charles Lindbergh who became the most famous man on earth.

Troublesome Words is playful and riddlesome guide to the English language from the bestselling author of Notes from a Small Island and A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill BrysonWhat is the difference between mean and median, blatant and flagrant, flout and flaunt? Is it whodunnit or whodunit? Do you know? Are you sure?With Troublesome Words, journalist and bestselling travel-writer Bill Bryson gives us a clear, concise and entertaining guide to the problems of English usage and spelling that has been an indispensable companion to those who work with the written word for over twenty years. So if you want to discover whether you should care about split infinitives, are cursed with an uncontrollable outbreak of commas or were wondering if that newsreader was right to say 'an historic day', this superb book is the place to find out.

Presenting a tour of English from its mongrel origins to its status as the world's most-spoken tongue; its apparent simplicity to its deceptive complexity; its vibrant swearing to its uncertain spelling and pronunciation, this book covers curious eccentricities that make it as maddening to learn and as flexible to use.

Originally published as The Penguin Dictionary for Writers and Editors, Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors has now been completely revised and updated for the twenty-first century by Bill Bryson himself.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to find out everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. It's not so much about what we know, as about how we know what we know.

Vi går gennem hele livet i en og samme krop, og alligevel ved de fleste af os stort set intet om, hvordan vores krop fungerer, og hvad der sker inden i os. Dette gør den formidable videnskabsformidler Bill Bryson, forfatter til bl.a. bestselleren En kort historie om næsten alt, noget ved. I Kroppen – en guide for indehavere tager han os med på en dybt fascinerende rejse fra top til tå og anskueliggør det vidunder, vores legeme er. Bogen er rigt illustreret og sprængfuld af viden om de mest forunderlige ting ved vores fysik, og den er, som forfatterens tidligere bøger, skrevet så ligetil og underholdende, at alle kan og får lyst til, at være med.

Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way, he researched the history of anything and everything, from architecture to electricity, from food preservation to epidemics, from the spice trade to the Eiffel Tower, 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. Where A Short History of Nearly Everything was a sweeping panorama of the world, the universe and everything, At Home peers at private life through a microscope. Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade.

Bill Bryson goes to Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to working with local communities to eradicate poverty around the world.

Voted in a BBC poll the book, is an insight into all that is best and worst about Britain.

International bestseller Bill Bryson brings us this brilliantly readable biography of the world's greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.Join Bill as he takes you on a journey through Elizabethan England, tackling the myths, half-truths and downright lies to make sense of the man behind the masterpieces.Revel in this glorious celebration of the life of Shakespeare from the much-loved author of 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' and 'Notes from a Small Island'.

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move Mrs Bryson, little Jimmy et al back to the States for a while.