Advertisement

The Bard in text and illustrations

December 20, 2009 at 5:38AM
Shakespeare by Bill Bryson
Shakespeare by Bill Bryson (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Two years ago, Bill Bryson published an intentionally brief, accessible biography of William Shakespeare. The book sold well, partly due to the happy meeting of subject and author. After all, Bryson has become perhaps the best known, biggest-selling nonfiction author of the 21st century, thanks to books such as "A Short History of Nearly Everything," "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself." As for Shakespeare, the 16th-century bard, well, he needs no introduction.

Bryson lobbied his many readers to believe that William Shakespeare was indeed William Shakespeare. He discounted the findings of other writers theorizing that somebody with greater societal standing -- such as Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe or the Earl of Oxford -- wrote those millions of memorable words under the pen name William Shakespeare.

To bolster his case -- and sell more books -- Bryson is back with a slightly revised text and lots of attractive illustrations, just in time for the primary gift-giving season among millions of Americans. The book from two years ago is not lushly illustrated. The new version is worth the price. Why? For those who have already read Bryson's "Shakespeare," a rereading is a pleasure. For those who missed the biography from two years ago, the illustrated edition is not all that much more expensive. As for those who do not read much but like to place impressive books on coffee tables, this book qualifies.

STEVE WEINBERG

Advertisement
about the writer

about the writer

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.

Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement