About this title: In this new installment in the critically acclaimed Eminent Lives series, Bryson explores the life and work of Shakespeare in a typically Brysonian fashion. That is to say, he has crafted a travelogue of sorts, narrating his quest for the Bard.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780060740221ISBN:0060740221
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Ex) Library Copy. Moderate wear on Cover/Interior Pages. Usual library markings. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 199 p. Eminent Lives. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2008-01-01
ISBN-13:9780007197903ISBN:000719790X
Description: Good. Good clean condition. All pages are clean. Cover/book edges have some wear. Book edge is soiled. Your satisfaction is guaranteed! read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperLuxe
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061363917ISBN:006136391X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperLuxe
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061363917ISBN:006136391X
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780060740221ISBN:0060740221
Description: New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 199 p. Eminent Lives. Audience: General/trade. Awesome Book! ! ! Awesome Condition! ! ! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780007197903ISBN:000719790X
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 272 pages. This short biography of william shakespeare by world famous writer bill bryson brims with the author's inimitable wit and intelligence. (Paperback) read more
"I have enjoyed reading Bill Bryson's books: he has a sense of humor which appeals to me. So when I saw this book--in Taiwan, of all places--I picked it up.
A long time ago I worked through a lot of Shakespeare in graduate school, but it's been a long time ago. Bryson tells it all as if you didn't know a thing, which helps out.
Most of what he says, though, is conjecture because so little is known of Shakespeare's life. In fact, there have been ongoing debates for a couple centuries about whether there even was a William Shakespeare who wrote all those plays. Bryson goes into great detail about some things, which makes you want to skim through some of it, but in general he guides you through everything pretty capably.
And then there is Bryson's humorous style, which comes up unexpectedly every so often. For instance, he notes that more than fifty contemporaries of Shakespeare have been mentioned as the person who really wrote all his plays. In discussing all this, he names some historians who argued someone's case--people with notable names like J. Thomas Looney, Sherwood E. Silliman, and George M. Battey.
"I wish this book could be longer. Actually there are very little facts to go on in writing about Shakespeare's life. This is a short book, because Bill Bryson does very little speculating. This book gives the facts, fills in details about the times, and discusses some of the speculation and scholarship about Shakespeare. There is very little about the content of Shakespeare's work. Don't read this book looking for an analysis of his work. It's all really fascinating, and added to that, all told in Bryson's witty & laid-back voice. He's some samples: "The sight of a screeching ape clinging for dear life to a bucking horse while dogs leaped at it from below was considered about as rich an amusement as public life could offer. That an audience that could be moved to tears one day by a performance of Doctor Faustus could return the next to the same space and be just as entertained by the frantic deaths of helpless animals may say as much about the age as any single statement could." Or, "We are much indebted to Platter for a large part of what we know about Elizabethan theatrical performances in London - making it all the more ironic that he spoke almost no English and could not possibly have understood most of what he was seeing." Or describing King James I : "James was not, by all accounts, the most visually appealing of fellows..." He's got that understated humor that I love. He could probably write about anything and be fun to read. The big negative about this book is that it just made me wish more was known about Shakespeare's life. As Bryson says it, "We know that Shakespeare used words to powerful effect, and we may reasonably presume that he had feelings. What we don't know, and can barely even guess at, is where the two intersected.""
By mrjasonedward,
Bandar Seri Begawan, 00, Brunei Darussalam
"As you probably know, I love Shakespeare and I've also been reading a few Bill Bryson books. I guess that makes a book about Shakespeare by Bryson a complete no-brainer. In fact, I have ten books sitting on my desk just begging to be read and, you guessed it, this was my first choice.
There is just something about Bryson's style that is very relaxing and enjoyable to read. You just sit back and take it easy with one of his books and before you know it several hours have passed by and you've polished off the entire book.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. Bryson gives us a pretty good introduction to the study of Shakespeare. Actually, he spends a lot of time talking about what we don't know about Shakespeare, but that's okay. The various mysteries of Shakespeare's life are quite interesting in themselves.
My favourite part was Bryson's discussion of the common words that were introduced to the language by Shakespeare and I would have gladly read more about that topic as Bryson seems to have a very strong knowledge of the English language (which he explores in his other books). I also liked the final chapter which attempts to put to rest the authorship question. I, like Bryson, get a bit annoyed by people who suggest that Shakespeare did not write his plays. It's just nice to hear it in the common sense manner in which Bryson writes.
This book will appeal to Shakespeare students or enthusiasts and would be a good starting point for somebody planning to take a course in his work. It has also made me want to watch Shakespeare in Love again as Bryson mentions a lot of the people who lived at the time and many of them came to life as characters in the movie.
I believe that I saw a copy at Best Eastern at The Mall, so any of my lit students who are interested could check there if they like.
Also, I would like to tell you that I found several copies of Rome and Juliet (you know...one of the best films ever made) at a movie shop in Kiulap - the one that is tucked away in the courtyard near Hua Ho. It's $6, but it is so worth it!
I'm giving the book 3.5/5 stars. I just felt like I wanted more. Bryson clipped this one to around 200 pages and I really wanted to hear him tell a few more stories and explore his ideas and opinions on more topics. For example, in one paragraph he asked the reader to imagine how it felt to be one of the people in the crowd watching Shakespeare live and even seeing him acting in the play. I would have enjoyed it if he explored that sort of imaginative idea a bit more."
"Unfortunately, there is precious little facts about Shakespeare. Indeed, of the 6 known signatures to exist from his hand, he does not spell his name the same way twice nor as we spell it today. This makes any biography about him more speculation and less fact. Bryson tries to flesh out the paucity of data with what we do know of the era in which he lived and wrote. This doesn't make for a terribly exciting read but there are some interesting parts. One is the fact that Shakespeare's birth certificate was in Latin and death certificate was in English. Shakespeare had some hand in supplanting Latin with English in written works. But Bryson is best when exploring the people who study Shakespeare. They are always a little odd and always have great stories and Bryson is fantastic at telling them. One example was a Early 20th Century North Dakota English Professor, who became obsessed with Shakespeare, moved to England and began pouring over the records of Shakespeare's time for a biography. He spent decades reading through 300 year old legal suits only to suffer from delusions of grandeur and then paranoia. He finally was politely asked to leave England, moved back to the US, and became sure that he could find oil just by looking at land. He would later invest in one of the largest oil fields ever to be found in the US. Only Bryson tells it better than me."
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