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Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives)
 

William Shakespeare (Eminent Lives)

by Bill Bryson


William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.

Bryson documents the efforts of earlier scholars, from... (read more)

Top tags: shakespeare,  biography,  nonfiction,  history,  humor (all tags)

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Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Stephen C
  • Rated 4 stars

“He's got a great touch this Mr Bryson. He must read volumes to just cull the perceptive stuff he ends up with”

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Didn’t Like It

Meri B Hapi
  • Rated 2 stars

“Dry, dry, dry. Who decided that the man who sees life in such an interesting way should write a book this boring? It's as if our good bard was in no way influenced by the world around him. This book could have been written in bullet points. To read about Shakespeare and not make inferences is an insult to the man. Bryson, write this book again without the stone around your neck!”

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Community:
  • Rated 3.69697 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 0 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Selina C

    selina c said:

    “According to Bryson, anyone can write a book about Shakespeare and not tell us anything except what other people have told us..the point being - there is no point to this book.

    This book could have been summed up in one sentence "I don't know anything about the life of Shakespeare"”

    posted Thursday, June 5 2008
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    the artist fka hoopidy fly pimp mac daddy re-kleiner o-19er coming in for a landing boy he's a hella fresh taco bell connoisseur said:

    “i thought this book was terrible. i, too, enjoy most everything that bryson writes. but this book, to me, was just a waste of time.”

    posted Friday, March 28 2008
  • Steven K

    steven k said:

    “I am really enjoying this book. But, I love everything by Bryson. What really gets me is that he gets rid of all the "academic" talk and draws a fine line between what is known of Shakespeare and what is purely conjecture. I like that about it. According to him 5% of Shakespeare's biographical information, pulled from serious scholars, is fact. The other 95% is formed with insufficient evidence and purely speculative. ”

    posted Thursday, March 27 2008
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