At Home: A Short History of Private Life

Front Cover
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Oct 4, 2011 - Architecture - 592 pages

In these pages, the beloved Bill Bryson gives us a fascinating history of the modern home, taking us on a room-by-room tour through his own house and using each room to explore the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture. Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and his sheer prose fluency makes At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

 

Contents

INTRODUCTION
3
THE YEAR
9
II
35
THE HALL
53
THE KITCHEN
79
THE SCULLERY AND LARDER
102
THE FUSE BOX
131
THE DRAWING ROOM
160
THE PLUM ROOM
337
THE STAIRS
363
THE BEDROOM
378
THE BATHROOM
406
THE DRESSING ROOM
441
THE NURSERY
475
THE ATTIC
509
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
533

THE PASSAGE
251
THE STUDY
280
THE GARDEN
301
BIBLIOGRAPHY
535
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
561
INDEX
563

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About the author (2011)

Bill Bryson’s bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods (now a major motion picture starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte), Notes from a Small Island, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, A Short History of Nearly Everything (which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize), The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, At Home, and One Summer. He lives in England with his wife.

www.billbrysonbooks.com

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