There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.

There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.


LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, 03 Sep 2008
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.

A forgotten style, 24 Jul 2008
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.


'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning', 15 May 2008
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.

An odd little book, 31 Dec 2007
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.

While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.

In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this quality in the Spanish people. He appears quite dispassionate about what he sees. I find the claim that he mastered a fluency in Spanish after only a short time into his year-long journey, little short of a miracle. I understand there is a controversial idea that Lee did not, in fact, do all that he said he did, which includes his alleged later involvement in fighting Fascists in the Civil War. The growing presence of the impending Civil War arrives too late in the book to save me from boredom. I personally found this book a pompous, self-satisfying bore.

Another Lee Masterpiece, 22 Oct 2007
If you enjoy descriptive writing that sucks you right into a novel then this is definitely a book to add to your list. Part bildungsroman - part historical, the novel follows the path of the young Laurie as he makes his way out into the world in search of fortune and life experience. I found the writing style timeless and the story itself fascinating and gripping. A very enjoyable read.

Elvis's wimpled sister rocks on in a convent she calls Graceland; Nancy Sinatra gets out her boots made for walking with the Kray Sisters; Mrs Midas misses the touch of her now dangerous golden-handed husband; and Queen Herod decrees the killing of each mother's son to protect her baby daughter in Carol Ann Duffy's startling new collection The World's Wife. Doubling is one of the most common themes--and stylistic ploys--of Western culture and thought, and the concept around which Duffy has ingeniously organised this profoundly playful collection. Mrs Midas, Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin, Frau Freud, Anne Hathaway, Mrs Rip Van Winkle, the Kray Sisters; these are some of the wives, and sisters, whose stories are told. These inventive, metaphorically precise poems offer much more, however, than just a recovery of the historical voice of her (supposedly) silenced indoors. Duffy dexterously rewrites Judao-Christian and classical mythologies, subverts fairytale and zestfully reinterprets the more modern myths of Darwin and Freud.

Humour is the abundant keynote of this accessible collection. Mrs Rip Van Winkle enjoys the freedom to travel and paint allowed by her husband's permanent slumbers, "Until the day / I came home with pastel of Niagara / and he was sitting up in bed rattling Viagra." Frau Freud analyses her over-exposure to "ding-a-ling, member and jock, / of todger and nudger and percy and cock," and confesses with irony to being, "as au fait with Hunt-the Salami / as Ms M. Lewinsky." Mrs Aesop groans about her husbands unstoppable garrulousness: "By Christ, he could bore for Purgatory," and Mrs Darwin evolves the following summary her husband's research:

"7 April 1852
Went to the Zoo.
I said to Him--
Something about that Chimpanzee over there
reminds me of you."

The World's Wife throws open the windows on the stuffy annals of historical myth and breezes through some of its highlights with a sense of revelry and laugh-out-loud observation. In this wry take on the historical ubiquity of heterosexual coupledom that permeates so many cultural myths, Duffy has separated vibrant women from the shadows of their more famous husbands and brothers, and divorced them from the distortions of historical silence. --Rachel Holmes

There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.


LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, 03 Sep 2008
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.

A forgotten style, 24 Jul 2008
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.


'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning', 15 May 2008
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.

An odd little book, 31 Dec 2007
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.

While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.

In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this quality in the Spanish people. He appears quite dispassionate about what he sees. I find the claim that he mastered a fluency in Spanish after only a short time into his year-long journey, little short of a miracle. I understand there is a controversial idea that Lee did not, in fact, do all that he said he did, which includes his alleged later involvement in fighting Fascists in the Civil War. The growing presence of the impending Civil War arrives too late in the book to save me from boredom. I personally found this book a pompous, self-satisfying bore.

Another Lee Masterpiece, 22 Oct 2007
If you enjoy descriptive writing that sucks you right into a novel then this is definitely a book to add to your list. Part bildungsroman - part historical, the novel follows the path of the young Laurie as he makes his way out into the world in search of fortune and life experience. I found the writing style timeless and the story itself fascinating and gripping. A very enjoyable read.

Now with extra laughs..., 05 Jul 2008
Ms Duffy is loved by readers even more than by the critics. She is wise, and she is clever. She is also very moving and extremely funny. This volume introduces us to Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin and even Mrs Faust and Mrs Quasimodo and so on...

These are not poems meant for academic study, these are poems to be read and enjoyed. And they are very enjoyable, with sharp wit throughout.

There are times in her more recent work when Duffy strikes me as the poet that Elizabeth Jennings was too frightened to be, here however CAD lets her hair down and unleashes a delight of barbs and sympathy.

The only disappointment for me is The Kray Sisters, but then, I hate so called cockney rhyming slang. Stuff your 'lady Godivas' up your 'Khyber pass'.

That minor gripe aside, this is another wonderful volume from one of our most popular poets, and even funnier than usual.

Poetry By Numbers, 15 Apr 2008
Carol Ann Duffy is one of the foremost poets in British Poetry in the twenty-first century. And therein lies the first of many problems I have with her.

'Academic' concerns, such as mythology and history are all over this book, yet being an academic is not a prerequisite of being a poet.

Her poetry here (and in everything else she's done) is trite, cliched, and gender-specific, whilst it also tries too hard to be funny. Being able to look up a few reference books to find information about various women throughout history does not a poet maketh.

Besides which, the poetry itself is stilted, obscure, awkward, lazy, and badly written. Carol Ann Duffy treads the same path as just about every single other poet who is published in Britain today; they give the publishers exactly what the PUBLISHERS want, rather than actually writing poetry that more than a few individuals can relate to. But who are these arrogant individuals and what makes them qualified to judge what constitutes 'good' poetry? I suspect that class plays a big part... The poetry business is full of nauseating back-slapping and sycophancy, despite the fact that the number of people actually buying poetry is at an all-time low. Wonder why?

Fantastic, 11 Dec 2007
I truly adore this owmna and the way she wites.
She cuts to the quick with the emtions of some of her characters, especially with resentment, which features in a lot of her poems in this book.
Take a close look at Delilah and Mrs Aesop, both absolutely extarordinary poems.

Brilliantly creative and entertaining, 19 Oct 2007
I loved this collection of poems, written from the perspective of real or imagined wives or other females connected to famous males from history, myth or fairy tale. There's a wonderful variety of tone, from Mrs Herod's raddled old rouée, waking up with John the Baptist's head in her morning-after-the-night-before bed, to Penelope, for whom Odysseus' return is a tedious interruption to the world-making creativity of her weaving. The Kray Sisters, Pope Joan, Mrs Quasimodo - all are beautifully brought to life by Duffy's deft and imaginative strokes. By turns wistful, menacing, contemptuous or just weary of their men, Duffy's women give us a multifaceted glimpse into a world where women's ways of knowing and being displace men from the spotlight to the shadows. Brilliant.

My Favourite, 09 Jul 2007
I absolutely love this collection!!!! It consists mainly of the story behind male mythological figures in which Duffy inverts and presents herself as their wife or lover. Or simply female figures with an interesting tale. The brutal language and matter of fact tone make it perfect for female readers who are sick of men!!! A definite must!!!

There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.


LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, 03 Sep 2008
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.

A forgotten style, 24 Jul 2008
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.


'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning', 15 May 2008
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.

An odd little book, 31 Dec 2007
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.

While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.

In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this quality in the Spanish people. He appears quite dispassionate about what he sees. I find the claim that he mastered a fluency in Spanish after only a short time into his year-long journey, little short of a miracle. I understand there is a controversial idea that Lee did not, in fact, do all that he said he did, which includes his alleged later involvement in fighting Fascists in the Civil War. The growing presence of the impending Civil War arrives too late in the book to save me from boredom. I personally found this book a pompous, self-satisfying bore.

Another Lee Masterpiece, 22 Oct 2007
If you enjoy descriptive writing that sucks you right into a novel then this is definitely a book to add to your list. Part bildungsroman - part historical, the novel follows the path of the young Laurie as he makes his way out into the world in search of fortune and life experience. I found the writing style timeless and the story itself fascinating and gripping. A very enjoyable read.

Now with extra laughs..., 05 Jul 2008
Ms Duffy is loved by readers even more than by the critics. She is wise, and she is clever. She is also very moving and extremely funny. This volume introduces us to Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin and even Mrs Faust and Mrs Quasimodo and so on...

These are not poems meant for academic study, these are poems to be read and enjoyed. And they are very enjoyable, with sharp wit throughout.

There are times in her more recent work when Duffy strikes me as the poet that Elizabeth Jennings was too frightened to be, here however CAD lets her hair down and unleashes a delight of barbs and sympathy.

The only disappointment for me is The Kray Sisters, but then, I hate so called cockney rhyming slang. Stuff your 'lady Godivas' up your 'Khyber pass'.

That minor gripe aside, this is another wonderful volume from one of our most popular poets, and even funnier than usual.

Poetry By Numbers, 15 Apr 2008
Carol Ann Duffy is one of the foremost poets in British Poetry in the twenty-first century. And therein lies the first of many problems I have with her.

'Academic' concerns, such as mythology and history are all over this book, yet being an academic is not a prerequisite of being a poet.

Her poetry here (and in everything else she's done) is trite, cliched, and gender-specific, whilst it also tries too hard to be funny. Being able to look up a few reference books to find information about various women throughout history does not a poet maketh.

Besides which, the poetry itself is stilted, obscure, awkward, lazy, and badly written. Carol Ann Duffy treads the same path as just about every single other poet who is published in Britain today; they give the publishers exactly what the PUBLISHERS want, rather than actually writing poetry that more than a few individuals can relate to. But who are these arrogant individuals and what makes them qualified to judge what constitutes 'good' poetry? I suspect that class plays a big part... The poetry business is full of nauseating back-slapping and sycophancy, despite the fact that the number of people actually buying poetry is at an all-time low. Wonder why?

Fantastic, 11 Dec 2007
I truly adore this owmna and the way she wites.
She cuts to the quick with the emtions of some of her characters, especially with resentment, which features in a lot of her poems in this book.
Take a close look at Delilah and Mrs Aesop, both absolutely extarordinary poems.

Brilliantly creative and entertaining, 19 Oct 2007
I loved this collection of poems, written from the perspective of real or imagined wives or other females connected to famous males from history, myth or fairy tale. There's a wonderful variety of tone, from Mrs Herod's raddled old rouée, waking up with John the Baptist's head in her morning-after-the-night-before bed, to Penelope, for whom Odysseus' return is a tedious interruption to the world-making creativity of her weaving. The Kray Sisters, Pope Joan, Mrs Quasimodo - all are beautifully brought to life by Duffy's deft and imaginative strokes. By turns wistful, menacing, contemptuous or just weary of their men, Duffy's women give us a multifaceted glimpse into a world where women's ways of knowing and being displace men from the spotlight to the shadows. Brilliant.

My Favourite, 09 Jul 2007
I absolutely love this collection!!!! It consists mainly of the story behind male mythological figures in which Duffy inverts and presents herself as their wife or lover. Or simply female figures with an interesting tale. The brutal language and matter of fact tone make it perfect for female readers who are sick of men!!! A definite must!!!

Homage to fascism, more like, 26 Mar 2008
Note how the great Orwell never says anything positive about those doing the bulk of the fighting against Franco - in fact, note how he barely mentions Franco and fascism at all! In the course of the events he descibes in this book, he spends most of his time doing nothing, like the rest of his Trotskyist and anarchist friends. Meanwhile, the Republicans, whom he slanders from afar, were fighting and dying in the front line against the Nazi and Italian forces who enabled Franco's victory. Note also how he never says a positive word about the Soviet Union, which was the only country to help the Republic, while the British and French governments helped Hitler and Mussolini to intervene.

Homage to freedom and equality, 19 Mar 2008
The Spanish civil war is possibly, alongside the Paris Commune of 1871, the period of history I wished to have taken an active part in. George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is the best portrayal I've read so far on this period and an inspired and inspiring piece of literature. A very personal account of the war that doesn't neglect the social and political background, its implications and the influence it had on 20th century history. Ever wondered why the Spanish Civil war meant so much to so many around the world? Think you know what it really stood for? Ever questioned why the leftists (socialists, communists and anarchists) lost? Then this is the book for you.

Famous first-hand account of Spain's 1936-7 Civil War, 24 Feb 2008
A recent trip to Barcelona made me pull this book off my bookshelf, where it had been gathering dust since I first read it as a teenager 12 years ago. At the time I was very much into Orwell - his socialism, his hatred of Capitalism and his championing of the working classes. Though writing half a century earlier, he seemed to voice much of what myself and the other youths I hung around with believed.

Out of all Orwell's books that I read, I found this the least enjoyable and the most hard-going. I couldn't make head nor tail of who the different sides were, who was fighting who, what each side was fighting for and the complicated party politics of a Spain that existed nearly 60 years in the past.

The book is akin to Down and Out in Paris and London in that Orwell throws himself into an impoverished and dangerous situation which is not necessary for one of his social class and talents. Yet he does it anyway, mainly, I think, to provide the raw experience from which he can create these masterful literary accounts. In Paris and London Orwell writes about poverty and homelessness. Here he is writing about a war which, at first at least, he sees as being between 'the Fascists' and 'the working classes' (a perfect Orwellian subject). In the earlier book Orwell becomes a tramp. Here he becomes a soldier - a militiaman in a foreign army. Strange and noble that he should suffer so much for his art. However, 12 years on from my first reading, I can't help viewing Orwell's behaviour as a slightly patronising kind of 'social tourism'. When he has had enough, Orwell is able to, and in fact does, escape back to a comfortable middle-class existence back in England. This escape clause is not open to the real tramps, 'peasants' and militiamen he mixes with. This is not a severe criticism, though. Undoubtedly Orwell did genuinely care about the social injustices he witnessed and he was clearly trying to draw attention to them and strive for reform (he was instrumental in setting up the NHS in the 1940s).

This time I understood little more of what was going on than first time round. However, despite my lack of understanding, and despite having a markedly different political stance than I did as a teenager, I found the book to be much more rewarding this time round. Orwell's matter-of-fact reportage of trench warfare and street fighting is fascinating. His vivid descriptions of the antiquated weapons, attacking an enemy position, the freezing nights and the human lice - not to mention of getting shot through the throat ("The whole experience of being hit by a bullet is very interesting and I think it is worth describing in detail") - are vivid and eloquent. Also, you can see here embryonic elements that made it into Nineteen Eighty-Four (the systematic suppression and even murder of those that disagree with the state view, for instance).

This time round I was gripped all the way to the last sentence, by which time Orwell has returned home and finds England "sleeping the deep deep sleep of England, from which I sometimes fear we shall never wake till we are jerked out of it by the roar of bombs." Chilling when you reflect that this book was published in 1938, only a year before WW2 broke out.

A brilliant book, author and anarchist, 20 Oct 2007
Orwell has been slandered slightly with the title of socialist. This book well and truly shows his colours - multicoloured of course. The book is an outstanding account and description of the Spanish Civil War, an excellent portrayal of effective anarchism in action in Barcelona in those early days, a brilliant advertisement for pacifism, and an excellent insight into the mind of someone whose lasting influnce in the world has even changed the language. Thought police, Big Brother, Room 101 - all terms inspired by true events outlined in this classic book. There's memorable glimpses into the horrors of life in war - the food shortages, rats, the seemingly-trivial issues of looking for firewood, the lack of actual fighting, but the fun and camaradery too.

There's so much in this little book - masculinity, class, war, socialism, anarchism and descriptions of the Ramblas in Barcelona that have stood the test of time.

Simply Brilliant , 06 Dec 2006
This book is truly essential reading for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, or for that matter anyone with an interest in war, Communism, Socialism, Anarchism or in Literature. Orwell's account of the Spanish Civil War is more than just a brilliant account of life in a civil war, it is a first hand account of the horrors of Stalinism, and Orwell's experiences in Spain explain why he later wrote his best known works, 1984 and Animal Farm, to warn of the dangers which he knew so well.

The book starts out recounting Orwell's experiences of arriving in Spain as an eager volunteer wanting to help fight Fascism. He is shocked to discover the disorganisation and inefficiency of the Republican militias. The book then goes on to give a telling account of the boredom of trench warfare, where the naïve Orwell wants to be able to kill at least one Fascist to do his part in the struggle for freedom, but ends up mainly having to contend with lice, rats and the freezing weather.

This alone might make for an interesting read, but the book really comes into its own in the latter chapters, where Orwell describes the struggle going on within the Republican controlled region of Spain. A wounded Orwell returns to Barcelona, where the Stalinists who have seized control of the government turn on their political rivals. Orwell is well placed to describe the May fighting between the Stalinist police who wish to enforce state control and the idealistic anarchists who want to defend their revolutionary gains.

Following the government victory, Orwell's small political party the POUM is made a scapegoat for the fighting and is outlawed. A stunned Orwell is forced to go on the run from the very Republic for which he had been so willing to risk his life. This makes for a damning indictment of totalitarianism that is still capable of gripping and infuriating the reader generations after the events described. Orwell shows that he is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this is probably his finest work, deserving to be read by all.

There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.


LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, 03 Sep 2008
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.

A forgotten style, 24 Jul 2008
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.


'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning', 15 May 2008
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.

An odd little book, 31 Dec 2007
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.

While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.

In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this quality in the Spanish people. He appears quite dispassionate about what he sees. I find the claim that he mastered a fluency in Spanish after only a short time into his year-long journey, little short of a miracle. I understand there is a controversial idea that Lee did not, in fact, do all that he said he did, which includes his alleged later involvement in fighting Fascists in the Civil War. The growing presence of the impending Civil War arrives too late in the book to save me from boredom. I personally found this book a pompous, self-satisfying bore.

Another Lee Masterpiece, 22 Oct 2007
If you enjoy descriptive writing that sucks you right into a novel then this is definitely a book to add to your list. Part bildungsroman - part historical, the novel follows the path of the young Laurie as he makes his way out into the world in search of fortune and life experience. I found the writing style timeless and the story itself fascinating and gripping. A very enjoyable read.

Now with extra laughs..., 05 Jul 2008
Ms Duffy is loved by readers even more than by the critics. She is wise, and she is clever. She is also very moving and extremely funny. This volume introduces us to Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin and even Mrs Faust and Mrs Quasimodo and so on...

These are not poems meant for academic study, these are poems to be read and enjoyed. And they are very enjoyable, with sharp wit throughout.

There are times in her more recent work when Duffy strikes me as the poet that Elizabeth Jennings was too frightened to be, here however CAD lets her hair down and unleashes a delight of barbs and sympathy.

The only disappointment for me is The Kray Sisters, but then, I hate so called cockney rhyming slang. Stuff your 'lady Godivas' up your 'Khyber pass'.

That minor gripe aside, this is another wonderful volume from one of our most popular poets, and even funnier than usual.

Poetry By Numbers, 15 Apr 2008
Carol Ann Duffy is one of the foremost poets in British Poetry in the twenty-first century. And therein lies the first of many problems I have with her.

'Academic' concerns, such as mythology and history are all over this book, yet being an academic is not a prerequisite of being a poet.

Her poetry here (and in everything else she's done) is trite, cliched, and gender-specific, whilst it also tries too hard to be funny. Being able to look up a few reference books to find information about various women throughout history does not a poet maketh.

Besides which, the poetry itself is stilted, obscure, awkward, lazy, and badly written. Carol Ann Duffy treads the same path as just about every single other poet who is published in Britain today; they give the publishers exactly what the PUBLISHERS want, rather than actually writing poetry that more than a few individuals can relate to. But who are these arrogant individuals and what makes them qualified to judge what constitutes 'good' poetry? I suspect that class plays a big part... The poetry business is full of nauseating back-slapping and sycophancy, despite the fact that the number of people actually buying poetry is at an all-time low. Wonder why?

Fantastic, 11 Dec 2007
I truly adore this owmna and the way she wites.
She cuts to the quick with the emtions of some of her characters, especially with resentment, which features in a lot of her poems in this book.
Take a close look at Delilah and Mrs Aesop, both absolutely extarordinary poems.

Brilliantly creative and entertaining, 19 Oct 2007
I loved this collection of poems, written from the perspective of real or imagined wives or other females connected to famous males from history, myth or fairy tale. There's a wonderful variety of tone, from Mrs Herod's raddled old rouée, waking up with John the Baptist's head in her morning-after-the-night-before bed, to Penelope, for whom Odysseus' return is a tedious interruption to the world-making creativity of her weaving. The Kray Sisters, Pope Joan, Mrs Quasimodo - all are beautifully brought to life by Duffy's deft and imaginative strokes. By turns wistful, menacing, contemptuous or just weary of their men, Duffy's women give us a multifaceted glimpse into a world where women's ways of knowing and being displace men from the spotlight to the shadows. Brilliant.

My Favourite, 09 Jul 2007
I absolutely love this collection!!!! It consists mainly of the story behind male mythological figures in which Duffy inverts and presents herself as their wife or lover. Or simply female figures with an interesting tale. The brutal language and matter of fact tone make it perfect for female readers who are sick of men!!! A definite must!!!

Homage to fascism, more like, 26 Mar 2008
Note how the great Orwell never says anything positive about those doing the bulk of the fighting against Franco - in fact, note how he barely mentions Franco and fascism at all! In the course of the events he descibes in this book, he spends most of his time doing nothing, like the rest of his Trotskyist and anarchist friends. Meanwhile, the Republicans, whom he slanders from afar, were fighting and dying in the front line against the Nazi and Italian forces who enabled Franco's victory. Note also how he never says a positive word about the Soviet Union, which was the only country to help the Republic, while the British and French governments helped Hitler and Mussolini to intervene.

Homage to freedom and equality, 19 Mar 2008
The Spanish civil war is possibly, alongside the Paris Commune of 1871, the period of history I wished to have taken an active part in. George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is the best portrayal I've read so far on this period and an inspired and inspiring piece of literature. A very personal account of the war that doesn't neglect the social and political background, its implications and the influence it had on 20th century history. Ever wondered why the Spanish Civil war meant so much to so many around the world? Think you know what it really stood for? Ever questioned why the leftists (socialists, communists and anarchists) lost? Then this is the book for you.

Famous first-hand account of Spain's 1936-7 Civil War, 24 Feb 2008
A recent trip to Barcelona made me pull this book off my bookshelf, where it had been gathering dust since I first read it as a teenager 12 years ago. At the time I was very much into Orwell - his socialism, his hatred of Capitalism and his championing of the working classes. Though writing half a century earlier, he seemed to voice much of what myself and the other youths I hung around with believed.

Out of all Orwell's books that I read, I found this the least enjoyable and the most hard-going. I couldn't make head nor tail of who the different sides were, who was fighting who, what each side was fighting for and the complicated party politics of a Spain that existed nearly 60 years in the past.

The book is akin to Down and Out in Paris and London in that Orwell throws himself into an impoverished and dangerous situation which is not necessary for one of his social class and talents. Yet he does it anyway, mainly, I think, to provide the raw experience from which he can create these masterful literary accounts. In Paris and London Orwell writes about poverty and homelessness. Here he is writing about a war which, at first at least, he sees as being between 'the Fascists' and 'the working classes' (a perfect Orwellian subject). In the earlier book Orwell becomes a tramp. Here he becomes a soldier - a militiaman in a foreign army. Strange and noble that he should suffer so much for his art. However, 12 years on from my first reading, I can't help viewing Orwell's behaviour as a slightly patronising kind of 'social tourism'. When he has had enough, Orwell is able to, and in fact does, escape back to a comfortable middle-class existence back in England. This escape clause is not open to the real tramps, 'peasants' and militiamen he mixes with. This is not a severe criticism, though. Undoubtedly Orwell did genuinely care about the social injustices he witnessed and he was clearly trying to draw attention to them and strive for reform (he was instrumental in setting up the NHS in the 1940s).

This time I understood little more of what was going on than first time round. However, despite my lack of understanding, and despite having a markedly different political stance than I did as a teenager, I found the book to be much more rewarding this time round. Orwell's matter-of-fact reportage of trench warfare and street fighting is fascinating. His vivid descriptions of the antiquated weapons, attacking an enemy position, the freezing nights and the human lice - not to mention of getting shot through the throat ("The whole experience of being hit by a bullet is very interesting and I think it is worth describing in detail") - are vivid and eloquent. Also, you can see here embryonic elements that made it into Nineteen Eighty-Four (the systematic suppression and even murder of those that disagree with the state view, for instance).

This time round I was gripped all the way to the last sentence, by which time Orwell has returned home and finds England "sleeping the deep deep sleep of England, from which I sometimes fear we shall never wake till we are jerked out of it by the roar of bombs." Chilling when you reflect that this book was published in 1938, only a year before WW2 broke out.

A brilliant book, author and anarchist, 20 Oct 2007
Orwell has been slandered slightly with the title of socialist. This book well and truly shows his colours - multicoloured of course. The book is an outstanding account and description of the Spanish Civil War, an excellent portrayal of effective anarchism in action in Barcelona in those early days, a brilliant advertisement for pacifism, and an excellent insight into the mind of someone whose lasting influnce in the world has even changed the language. Thought police, Big Brother, Room 101 - all terms inspired by true events outlined in this classic book. There's memorable glimpses into the horrors of life in war - the food shortages, rats, the seemingly-trivial issues of looking for firewood, the lack of actual fighting, but the fun and camaradery too.

There's so much in this little book - masculinity, class, war, socialism, anarchism and descriptions of the Ramblas in Barcelona that have stood the test of time.

Simply Brilliant , 06 Dec 2006
This book is truly essential reading for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, or for that matter anyone with an interest in war, Communism, Socialism, Anarchism or in Literature. Orwell's account of the Spanish Civil War is more than just a brilliant account of life in a civil war, it is a first hand account of the horrors of Stalinism, and Orwell's experiences in Spain explain why he later wrote his best known works, 1984 and Animal Farm, to warn of the dangers which he knew so well.

The book starts out recounting Orwell's experiences of arriving in Spain as an eager volunteer wanting to help fight Fascism. He is shocked to discover the disorganisation and inefficiency of the Republican militias. The book then goes on to give a telling account of the boredom of trench warfare, where the naïve Orwell wants to be able to kill at least one Fascist to do his part in the struggle for freedom, but ends up mainly having to contend with lice, rats and the freezing weather.

This alone might make for an interesting read, but the book really comes into its own in the latter chapters, where Orwell describes the struggle going on within the Republican controlled region of Spain. A wounded Orwell returns to Barcelona, where the Stalinists who have seized control of the government turn on their political rivals. Orwell is well placed to describe the May fighting between the Stalinist police who wish to enforce state control and the idealistic anarchists who want to defend their revolutionary gains.

Following the government victory, Orwell's small political party the POUM is made a scapegoat for the fighting and is outlawed. A stunned Orwell is forced to go on the run from the very Republic for which he had been so willing to risk his life. This makes for a damning indictment of totalitarianism that is still capable of gripping and infuriating the reader generations after the events described. Orwell shows that he is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this is probably his finest work, deserving to be read by all.


Simply brilliant, 27 Aug 2006
This really is one of the best accounts of the Great War that I've read. Given all that I've heard about this book, that wasn't so much of a surprise - what was, however, was that well before Graves joined the army about mid-way through the book I was already solidly engrossed.

Robert Graves writes with a real charm and gentle humour, belying an often quite scathing satirical leaning, and his account of his early home life and upbringing is beautiful, a real evocation of a time now lost forever. The fact that he's half-german heartbreakingly foreshadows later events, as he spends childhood holidays playing in fairytale German castles with German uncles and nephews, men he is destined one day to try to kill on the battlefields of France. It's a pertinent reminder of how close Britain and England were in the late 1800's, which makes the war all the more tragic.

The account of his time in France during the conflict, the greater part of the book, is simply brilliant - and considering what he goes through, it's hard to keep in mind that he was only in his early twenties, as I suppose so many of the soldiers were. The other reviews have covered this in more detail, so I'll skip on.

Once the war ends the book does lose drive and focus, but I get a sense that by this point Graves was simply weary of England and life in general - it must have been hard to find much that matched the passion and drama of the battlefield, where a generation faced things we can hardly imagine today. It does all evoke an interesting picture of how a country tries to adjust to life after such a war, however, before it starts becoming simply a list of which famous writers Graves met.

All in all, this is probably one of the best first-hand accounts of World War One that we're lucky enough to have - and if you have any interest at all in the subject, you simply owe it to yourself to read it at least once.

Oh, and I recommend reading it in conjunction with Seigfreid Sassoon's 'Memoirs of an Infantry Officer'. The stories overlap and parallel each other several times, and it's fascinating to read differing accounts of the same crucial events in the lives of these two men. Each book gives a whole new spin on the other - get the best of each by reading them together.

required reading for all, 06 Sep 2004
Goodbye to All That is as important to the canon of Great War literature as Schindler's List is to the Holocaust. Honest, stark and shocking at times, it is all pulled together with wonderful skill by Robert Graves who seemed to have such natural skill as a writer. My abiding memory of the book, which I have read several times, is the sheer sense of duty, so indicitative of the age, displayed by Graves and his fellow soldiers.

A briliant place to start reading about the Great War and one you will return to again and again.

It is worth reading alone for the narrative structure and the demonstration of writing craft which is of a quality not found anywhere today.

Outstanding WWI -period memoirs, 10 Feb 2002
Was Robert Graves' early life so remarkable that simply recording the facts was sufficient to create a classic? Or do his skills as a writer make the careful construction and delivery of this memoir seem effortless? Either way, the status of this work as a singularly powerful historical record is well deserved.

Graves' life, from middle class public school, to an officer in the trenches of WWI, and then an impoverished radical poet in post-war Oxford, seems like another world. Seemingly trivial details now seem bizarre, and life in the trenches under enemy fire (or gas attack) is hell on earth. Graves takes a factual, analytical, almost objective approach, recording public opinion and sentiment, and giving well-argued reasons for what now seems like military madness. This has the effect of hiding his own personal drama from the reader, so his anti-war feelings and eventual nervous collapse come as something of a surprise.

The book is not without its weaknesses. His time after the war seems to consist largely of name-dropping famous poets and encounters with Lawrence of Arabia, but seventy five years on there is limited interest in these figures, and instead we yearn for more characters such as Daisy, the daughter of a down-and-out who the Graveses temporarily adopted and gives us an insight unto life at the other end of the social spectrum, and regret that Graves did not record more of the social consequences of the radical socialism and feminism he and his wife adopted in what was still a conservative and socially claustrophobic society.

Graves toyed with turning his experiences into a novel. Ford Madox Ford did just that with the Parades End series. Some may find this allows a more considered approach of the same period, and where Graves gives us anecdote Ford leaves the reader with a deeper understanding. None of this, however, challenges the status of Goodbye to all That as an outstanding historical document of life in another age.

The War to end all wars . . ., 08 Mar 2001
With the increase of interest in the First World War recently it is to this book that many people should turn for a gripping, factual account of life before, during and after the Great War. Mr Graves documents the pastoral quiet of England in the early part of the twentieth century and abruptly descends to recounting, in cold detail, the dreadful slaughter of the trenches. Through some of the most famous battles in history he survives, physically more or less intact but from the dry words; modest, English, reserved, we glimpse the true weight of the burden that such memories impose on their carriers and understand better the terrible toll that the War levied on all the nations of Europe.

There's small choice in rotten apples, 11 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson is more or less superman in today's literary world. He transcends subjects in a single bound and the globe in another. He's a talented critic, writer and humourist. It's a good job, to use modern vernacular, that he's the daddy because, with this one, he's taken on the mother of all literary subjects.

He's done so wisely. He's not attempted to become an original researcher and posit new theories about the man's identity or his plays and other works. He has essentially evaluated and sumamrised the existing state of Shakepearian debate and study, providing his own critique of what is compelling and credible. Thankfully, Bryson was born without a 'boredom gene' and the book reaches any audience, reading so easily. The man does not do dull.

Typically, Bryson's prose is litered with diverting and revealing anecdoes, we get a potted physical history of the theatre alongside the exposition of the central figure. Bryson is expert at demonstrating the lack of hard information about Shakespeaare (I spelled that incorrectly, but then, so did the Bard...) and the vulnerability about the claims and surmises made about his life and character. That will no doubt ruffle feathers. I found it interesting to learn that Shakespeare had thieved so many of his stories from others. As also did I find the battle for written English over Latin. The fact there were lost plays is new to me too. So to non-Shakespeare scholars this offers a lot.

To those who are scholars I am not sure it will be depthy enough to satisfy but they are not the prime audience I'd suppose. Bryson's great economy of expression, wit and clarity mean he is less self-indulgent in this book than perhaps any other of his that I have read (which is all but one, that being the African diaries). Although always near the surface, his trademark wit is less in evidence, reserved for a full scale assault on those who feel Shakespeare was somebody else. That business is clearly a cottage industry and I know Bryson has trodden on somebody else's cucumbers here by reason of the ridicule he heaps on the alternate theories.

It is a short book. There could have been more. But how much more was truly needed? And at whatever point should he have stopped on an almost inexhaustible subject populated by many including purists and pedants? Nevertheless one gets the impression he made a judgement about the length that possibly excluded a little more hard work examining various omissions from the life of the Bard and those who knew or worked with him.

Bryson's book has one central curiosity. It is really the oppositite of a biography - more a book about what we don't know than what we do - and that is refreshing in itself. I think he's done a first rate job here given how well aired the subject is.

And for his next trick...?

Incidentally, the title I gave to this is a quote from one of the Bard's plays and seems to convey Bryson's attitude to much of the literature he discovered!


Informative, entertaining and readable, 06 Aug 2008
Any biographer of Shakespeare is faced with a problem: the known facts about Shakespeare's life would only fill one rather short chapter. Some biographers discuss at length various speculations about possible events in his life, but Bill Bryson wisely avoids most of this, briefly dismissing, for example, the story that he was caught poaching.

Instead, Bryson fills the book with a colourful depiction of life in Elizabethan England, describing for example food and drink, religion, the theatre, and the city of London. My only criticism of the book is that some of the historical stories, such as the Spanish Armada, the Essex rebellion and the gunpowder plot, will already be known to many readers.

Bryson has clearly taken his research seriously, and interviewed leading Shakespeare scholars as well as visiting the Folger library where many of the First Folios are kept.

Particularly entertaining is the final chapter where Bryson debunks the various theories (one of them proposed by a Thomas Looney) that the plays were written by someone else.

This is an informative and enjoyable book, and much easier to read than the more substantial Shakespeare biographies.






Enjoyable and informative, 04 Aug 2008
This is an easy to enjoy book offering the latest thinking on the world's greatest playwright, written in Bryson's typical witty and brisk style. It can be read over a short period of time - in fact, you find yourself wishing it was longer.
One of the most common phrases in the book is 'nothing is known about...' or 'very little is known about...' Bryson does not include information that is not fully backed up, or if he does, he discounts it. So there are times when you become a little exasperated at the lack of information. But the book is never less than highly entertaining, and full of piquant anecdotes and nuggets of information.

Combining facts and humour, 02 Aug 2008
When Bill Bryson is going to tackle a subject like William Shakespeare, you know that it is going to informative and very funny, an excellent combination. In his usual wry style Bill Bryson tries to unravel fact and fiction about Shakespeare's life, time and works. Because of the scarcity of facts, people have over the ages made up whole stories based on no evidence whatsoever. Also, there was (and is) a strong movement that Shakespeare's plays were not written be Shakespeare, because they consider him too much of a country yokel to write about the sophisticated topics covered in his plays. Bill bryson describes the times in which Shakespeare was alive, including the way in which theaters and plays were run, and makes a convincing case for not over-fantasizing, but also a realistic believe that Shakespeare has actually existed. A very readible book that combines fact and humor in a very pleasant way.

Excellent ...but..., 26 Jul 2008
I am a great Bill Bryson fan ...and I did enjoy this book.

When you see the Bryson name on the front, you know it is a mark of quality. What is contained within will inform and carry with it the trademark Bryson wit. This book will not disappoint. There is much to inform here but there is also rather a lot of assumptions. I don't actually believe that William Shakespeare was the actual author of the plays that bear his name, but all that is academic - Bryson offers us a lively debate.

This is a good book - worthy of 4 stars, but I can't help wishing that Mr Bryson would go back to what he excels at.

In his absence, a new book called 'Shakespeare My Butt!' by a new author on the block, debunks the Shakespeare argument in just one chapter and the rest of the book takes us back into the a Brysonesque world as it tours around the bizarre named places in Britain, amongst other things.

Quick Mr Bryson - excellent book and all that, but get back to your travel writing before someone steals your throne.


LAURIE LEE As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, 03 Sep 2008
Widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of travel writing ever made, 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is a massively engaging book.
At once visceral, heartfelt, honest, bursting with humanity and in some part disturbing, this account of a young man's walk through the Spain of the 1930s is a vicarious experience that transports the reader into an unforgettable but lost world.
There are occasions when Lee seems to have arrived at truly momentous turning points. After crossing the Guadarrama peaks he first sees Madrid in the plain of La Mancha and his knowledge of Spain is to become transformed by his experience of the capital. And then later, when he meets a Spanish sailor who portentiously warns "I don't know who you are, but if you want to see blood, stick around -you're going to see plenty."
Lee's politics are not overtly expressed, but his love of the people and their way of life is clear. Written later and first published in 1969, a lesser writer would have a built in nostalgia for a lost ideal, but not so here. His record of the Spanish rural way of life is far from idealistic.
This is a book that I would recommend to all readers, young and old alike, and is one of the best books that I have ever read.

A forgotten style, 24 Jul 2008
A style of writing that we dont see much these days. So much description that you almost feel heady. The warmth of the sun and the total atmosphere of old Spain were almost tangible.
A very relaxed writing by a young man with a zest for life and discovery.
Also a great book for anyone studying the Spanish civil war and the mood of the country beforehand,not from the politician's and historian's point of view,but an ordinary person's.
One of those books I would read again just for the descriptive narrative.


'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning', 15 May 2008
I first read this book in 1970 and just like one reviewer said,'Beware though as this book may make you want to give it all up and set off with your knapsack', well I did just that. In 1973/74 I travelled through 'Laurie Lee's Spain and it was just as I imagined it would be. This book for me evoked the essence of Spain of that time. Lee is an excellent writer, not only of novels but of poetry. I have re-read it many time since and it still evokes those feelings of wanting to go and explore. I'm thankful that I did do just that.

An odd little book, 31 Dec 2007
I managed to finish reading this the second time I picked it up. It was a case of putting it to rest, or else, sometime in the future I'd feel compelled to try again - and then, maybe I'd have to start from scratch. And I haven't got the energy to do that again.

While I enjoyed the honeyed recollections of 'Cider with Rosie', 'As I walked..." is by far a more difficult read. For a start it's oddly balanced. Why - I wonder - bother with the time spent travelling to and staying in London, when the pertinent focus of the book is his time spent in Spain? The end is a terrible cliff-hanger, which I suppose would encourage the interested reader to pick up the next installment 'A Moment of War'. Not me, I'm afraid.

In comparison with the rosy recollections of his childhood in Slad, Lee's vision of Spain is on a par with Dante's Hell. Everywhere is in a state of physical decay and moral decline. Throughout his journey he accepts the generosity of impoverished folks across the country, but shows little gratitude or appreciation on the printed page for this q