Thursday, December 6, 2007

112. Shakespeare, The world a stage

By Bill Bryson
Rated 5+++++ Stars

Bill Bryson is an author whose books really resonate with me. I am sure that he could write a book on the Influence of Politics and Religion in Common Earth Worm colonys and I would not only rush out to buy it but would then also rate it 5 stars. There is something about his take on things combined with the way he uses languages that really appeals to me as a reader.

In this book he starts off explaining that virtually nothing aside from his published works is really known about Shakespeare's life except that records have been found documenting that he was a) born and b) who his parents were, c) that he married Ann Hathaway and fathered three children, d) lived at some point in London and e) died and is buried in Stratford.

Copied from a review on amazon: And then, because he is the writer he is, takes close to 200 pages to cover it. One would think that 200 pages covering "nothing" would grow tedious. One would be wrong!!! (three exclamatio points, if you please.) So charmigly does Bryson write; so entertainingly does he explicate WHY nothing is known, and how to best understand that nothing, that the book is an unending source of knowledge and delight. ANY writer can write about SOMETHING. It takes the massive talents of the Thunderbolt Kid to write this well about nothing. He makes "Seinfeld" look loquacious.