History Books > by Original Release Year

Looking beyond those gloomy, sentimental pictures

Advantages: Fascinating, comprehensive and very enthusiastic look at Victorian pictures
Disadvantages: Unless the subject matter leaves you cold - absolutely none

...Oh, Victorian paintings. Large, horrible, gloomy, dark, sentimental pictures which you'd cross the street to avoid. Right? Well, no. There's more to them than meets the eye. Victoriana has always had a bad press, but if anybody is equipped to fight b ...

JOHNV 23.03.2010 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Victorians - Jeremy Paxman

A Meandering History of the Home - And Other Things

Advantages: Very well written and wonderfully researched, makes the mundane interesting
Disadvantages: Isn't particularly well structured

I must be honest and say that having lived in modern homes and in period properties, I have discovered I far prefer modern homes. My late husband used to call me a philistine for feeling this way, but having endured the joys of broken sash windows, dado ...

rosebud2001 05.08.2011 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of At Home: A Short History Of Private Life - Bill Bryson

How one half lived . . . and how the other half lived too!

Advantages: a very informative, highly detailed, well researched look at the home
Disadvantages: might be best suited to those with an interest in social history

...I only acquired this book quite recently, as a birthday present, and must admit that - before I had spotted on Amazon - I hadn’t realised it had even been published. Although I like history in general (I would say At Home is really more of a “history” boo ...

KateHurst 24.10.2010 · Read full review
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Review of At Home: A Short History Of Private Life - Bill Bryson

'Who else lived in a house like this?'

Advantages: Informative and diverting. Accessible social history.
Disadvantages: Not a particularly light read. Over 500 pages.

Not normally one to read history books, I was slightly taken aback to receive this substantial tome as a birthday present. Previous titles that I’d read by the same author, Bill Bryson, had all been entertaining travel and/or autobiographical wor ...

steves001 22.04.2011 · Read full review
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Review of At Home: A Short History Of Private Life - Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson: At Home. A fantastical flood of interesting facts.

Advantages: Interesting till the end, easy to get into and easy to stop and start throughtout.
Disadvantages: Only thing I can think of is that the title leads you to believe it might not be for everyone.

I have never read one of Brysons books before and I will admit that there are very few books that I have read by the age of 26. The reason for this, is that I get very board reading a book as I am a slow reader, therefore it takes me a long time to get to ...

Jonny85 11.07.2011 · Read full review
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Review of At Home: A Short History Of Private Life - Bill Bryson