Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is an acclaimed American author, renowned for his travel, science, and language books that are characterized by a unique blend of humor and insight. Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951 and later settled in the United Kingdom in 1977, where he began his writing career in journalism.

Bryson has spent extensive periods living in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and his writing reflects his experiences and observations of both countries and other continents, including Australia, Europe, and Africa. His bestselling travel books, such as "The Lost Continent," "Notes From a Small Island," "A Walk in the Woods," and "Down Under," have become beloved by readers for their witty and engaging style. In addition to his travel writing, Bryson has also written highly praised books on the English language, including "Mother Tongue" and "Made in America."

In 2003, Bryson returned to the United States, where he resided for a few years with his wife and four children. However, he eventually moved back to the United Kingdom, where he lived in the old-rectory of Wramplingham, Norfolk, and served as the Chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.

Bryson's work has received numerous accolades, including the World Book Day National Poll, the Aventis Prize for Science Books, and the Descartes Science Communication Prize. His book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" was a massive bestseller and was lauded by critics for its accessible and engaging exploration of scientific concepts. Overall, Bryson's writing has left an indelible mark on the literary world, delighting readers with his unique blend of humor, insight, and intellectual curiosity.
History Books
# Title Year
1 Icons of England 2008
2 At Home: A Short History of Private Life 2010
3 One Summer: America, 1927 2013
Language Books
# Title Year
1 Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words 1984
2 The Mother Tongue 1990
3 Made in America 1994
4 Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors 2008
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 The Best American Travel Writing 2000 2000
2 The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir 2006
3 Shakespeare 2007
4 The Secret History of Christmas 2022
Science Books
# Title Year
1 A Short History of Nearly Everything 2003
2 A Really Short History of Nearly Everything 2004
3 Seeing Further 2010
4 The Body 2019
Travel Books (with Marina Warner, with Christopher Lloyd, with Jennifer Jenkins, with David Bellamy, with Robin Hanbury-Tenbison, with Anna Parord)
# Title Year
1 The Palace Under the Alps 1985
2 The Lost Continent 1989
3 Neither Here nor There 1992
4 Notes from a Small Island 1995
5 A Walk in the Woods 1997
6 I'm a Stranger Here Myself / Notes from a Big Country 1998
7 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity (With: Marina Warner, Christopher Lloyd, Jennifer Jenkins, David Bellamy, Robin Hanbury-Tenbison, Anna Parord) 2000
8 In a Sunburned Country / Down Under 2000
9 Bill Bryson's African Diary 2002
10 The Road to Little Dribbling 2015
Travel Books (with Christopher Lloyd, with Jennifer Jenkins, with David Bellamy, with Robin Hanbury-Tenbison, with Anna Parord)
# Title Year
1 The Palace Under the Alps 1985
2 The Lost Continent 1989
3 Neither Here nor There 1992
4 Notes from a Small Island 1995
5 A Walk in the Woods 1997
6 I'm a Stranger Here Myself / Notes from a Big Country 1998
7 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity 2000
8 In a Sunburned Country / Down Under 2000
9 Bill Bryson's African Diary 2002
10 The Road to Little Dribbling 2015
Short Story Collections
# Title Year
1 The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection 2023
Eminent Lives Books
# Title Year
1 Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time (By: Karen Armstrong) 1991
2 Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time 1991
3 Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero (By: Michael Korda) 2004
4 Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero 2004
5 George Balanchine 2004
6 George Balanchine (By: Robert Gottlieb) 2004
7 Beethoven 2005
8 Beethoven (By: Edmund Morris) 2005
9 Thomas Jefferson 2005
10 Thomas Jefferson ( By: Christopher Hitchens) 2005
11 Caravaggio 2005
12 Caravaggio ( By: Francine Prose) 2005
13 Alexander the Great 2005
14 Alexander the Great (By: Norman F. Cantor) 2005
15 Freud 2006
16 Freud (By: Peter D. Kramer) 2006
17 Francis Crick 2006
18 Francis Crick (By: Matt Ridley) 2006
19 Alexis de Tocqueville 2006
20 Alexis de Tocqueville (By: Joseph Epstein) 2006
21 Shakespeare 2007
22 Machiavelli 2007
23 Machiavelli (By: Ross King) 2007
24 George Washington 2009
25 George Washington (By: Paul Johnson) 2009
Marina Warner Travel Books
# Title Year
1 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity 2000
2 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity (With: Marina Warner, Christopher Lloyd, Jennifer Jenkins, David Bellamy, Robin Hanbury-Tenbison, Anna Parord) 2000
3 Myth and Landscape 2015
4 Myth and Landscape (By: Marina Warner, Ibrahim al-Koni, David Parker) 2015
The Best American: Travel Writing
# Title Year
1 The Best American Travel Writing 2011 2011
2 The Best American Travel Writing 2000 2000
3 The Best American Travel Writing 2011 (By: Sloane Crosley) 2011
4 The Best American Travel Writing 2012 2012
5 The Best American Travel Writing 2013 2013
6 The Best American Travel Writing 2012 (By: Jason Wilson) 2012
7 The Best American Travel Writing 2014 2014
8 The Best American Travel Writing 2013 (By: Jason Wilson) 2013
9 The Best American Travel Writing 2014 (By: Jason Wilson) 2014
10 The Best American Travel Writing 2015 2015
11 The Best American Travel Writing 2015 (By: Jason Wilson) 2015
12 The Best American Travel Writing 2017 2017
13 The Best American Travel Writing 2016 2016
14 The Best American Travel Writing 2017 (By: Jason Wilson, Lauren Collins) 2017
15 The Best American Travel Writing 2018 2018
16 The Best American Travel Writing 2019 2019
17 The Best American Travel Writing 2018 (By: Cheryl Strayed) 2018
18 The Best American Travel Writing 2019 (By: Jason Wilson) 2019
19 The Best American Travel Writing 2020 2020
20 The Best American Travel Writing 2021 2021
21 The Best American Travel Writing 2020 (By: Jason Wilson) 2020
22 The Best American Travel Writing 2021 (By: Padma Lakshmi) 2021
Bill Bryson Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Great Baseball Stories 1990
2 The Astronomy Book 2012
3 Dear NHS 2020