In "At Home", Bill 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, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating books ever written about the history of the way we live. Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot 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 - eating, sleeping and merely endeavouring to get more comfortable. And that most of the key discoveries for humankind can be found in the very fabric of the houses in which we live. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, wandering from room to room considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way he did a prodigious amount of research on 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 on the brilliant, creative and often eccentric minds behind them. And he discovered that, although there may seem to be nothing as unremarkable as our domestic lives, there is a huge amount of history, interest and excitement - and even a little danger - lurking in the corners of every home.
Bill Bryson nació en Des Moines, Iowa, en 1951. Inició la carrera de Periodismo en Estados Unidos, pero la interrumpió para viajar por Europa. En 1977 se instaló en North Yorkshire, Inglaterra, donde residió dos décadas y trabajó como periodista. Aunque también se ha dedicado a la enseñanza (fue rector de la Universidad de Durham), actualmente se dedica sobre todo a escribir. Es autor, entre otros libros superventas, de Shakespeare, Una breve historia de casi todo, En casa: una breve historia de la vida privada, Aventuras y desventuras del Chico Centella, Un paseo por el bosque i 1927: Un verano que cambió el mundo y En las antípodas.
