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marillenbaum's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.25
A warm, cheerful breakdown of how homes are made and have changed over time.
dappledshade's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
klparmley's review
2.0
This was the least impressive of Bryson's books. It was poorly researched and makes me question the accuracy of other things he has written. I was disappointed.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
A pleasure. An education!
I didn't expect to find this as absolutely fascinating as I did. Right from the offset, when we are plunged into the world of the Great Exhibition, Bryson uses his own quite home as the basis of a series of connected essays/ramblings on the social history contained within every room in the house.
The history of washing, rats and bats, why chairs were once placed around the outsides of rooms, the development of knowledge of vitamins, it's just wonderful!
I love social history, and this touches on so many topics, one of my favourite parts concerned the free time of the gentlemen rectors/vicars, but I admired Bryson's structure and the use of rooms in a house to cover so much in one volume.
This was an audiobook read for me, narrated (and very well) by the author. You won't be bored by this, it's endlessly intriguing.
A good reminder that so much of history isn't the famous wars, celebrities and dates, but that it happened all around us, and often because of everyday people and our needs that big chances came about.
I didn't expect to find this as absolutely fascinating as I did. Right from the offset, when we are plunged into the world of the Great Exhibition, Bryson uses his own quite home as the basis of a series of connected essays/ramblings on the social history contained within every room in the house.
The history of washing, rats and bats, why chairs were once placed around the outsides of rooms, the development of knowledge of vitamins, it's just wonderful!
I love social history, and this touches on so many topics, one of my favourite parts concerned the free time of the gentlemen rectors/vicars, but I admired Bryson's structure and the use of rooms in a house to cover so much in one volume.
This was an audiobook read for me, narrated (and very well) by the author. You won't be bored by this, it's endlessly intriguing.
A good reminder that so much of history isn't the famous wars, celebrities and dates, but that it happened all around us, and often because of everyday people and our needs that big chances came about.