Travel across the globe and throughout history with the best Bill Bryson books, learning and treating yourself to some of the finest writing in nonfiction.
Entertaining, informative, and captivating, this collection of the best Bill Bryson books should not be missed by readers of any age.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951 but settled in Britain in 1977, Bill Bryson became famous for writing travelogues. He established himself as a prominent figure in the nonfiction genre worldwide. What else does Bill write? He’s published lots of travel, language, and science books.
A master wordsmith and a witty character, he transformed the drier relative of fiction into a funny but educational series of dives into various topics, places, scientific discoveries, and historical moments.
“You don’t need a science degree to understand about science. You just need to think about it.”
Bill Bryson
Unfortunately, Bill has stopped writing books. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the legendary writer announced he was retiring, saying he is “quite enjoying not doing anything at all” and reading for pleasure for the first time in decades. A popularizer of science and an enthusiastic traveler, Bill Bryson’s books contain something for everyone.
If you enjoy the books below, check out our list of the best authors like Bill Bryson.
Contents
- Best Bill Bryson Books Ranked
- 1. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
- 2. A Short History of Nearly Everything
- 3. At Home: A Short History of Private Life
- 4. Notes from a Small Island
- 5. One Summer: America, 1927
- 6. Down Under
- 7. Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
- 8. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
- 9. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
- 10. Made in America
- Author
Best Bill Bryson Books Ranked
1. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Published in 1999, A Walk in the Woods is perhaps Bryon’s most famous book. It recounts the author’s 2,100-mile trek on the Appalachian Trail. Breathtaking scenery and the simple majesty of nature are combined, with humor and skill, with the awkwardness of human beings in a classic Bryson way. The author singles out his friend Stephen Katz, who will become a recurring character in other books, and makes him out to be the comedic relief throughout the book.
However, a Walk in the Woods is more than just a funny travelogue. In it, Bryson’s love of nature is apparent, and he clarifies that America’s untouched natural oasis, the Appalachian Trail, should be preserved.
Not many books centered on hiking can make you laugh and cry. Its chapters, which you will breeze through out of pure joy and excitement, are full of inspiring descriptions of the wilderness, from meadows and flowers to curious animals. The book celebrates the outdoors and must be read and cherished.
“Life takes on a neat simplicity, too. Time ceases to have any meaning. When it is dark, you go to bed, and when it is light again you get up, and everything in between is just in between. It’s quite wonderful, really.”
Bill Bryson
2. A Short History of Nearly Everything
Wouldn’t a book that explains everything be useful? We’re in luck because Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is just that. With an inquisitive mind, the author one day realized the gaps in his knowledge and began a crusade to amend them. He takes us with him, through mathematics, history, science, astronomy, and philosophy, touching upon questions that we have all pondered in one way or another.
Amusing and deep, A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bryson’s result of numerous books read, interviews done with experts, and a treat to any reader.
“In three minutes, 98 percent of all the matter there is or will ever be has been produced.”
Bill Bryson
3. At Home: A Short History of Private Life
A fearless traveler, Bill Bryson also appreciates the concept of home. In his book At Home: A Short History of Private Life, the author argues that the place we live most of our lives in should not be taken for granted or dismissed as mundane and uninteresting.
In the book, Bryson analyzes each room of his house in a different chapter, wandering through history as well as his home. He investigates the bed, the pillow, the toilet, and many other objects that make up our everyday. He stresses the idea of comfort and the pains humans have taken to make their homes comfortable.
Humorous observations and informative detours throughout history make At Home charmingly relatable and captivating, and a book that should not be missed. You could even read it..at home.
“The Old English word for a slave was thrall, which is why when we are enslaved by an emotion we are enthralled.”
Bill Bryson
4. Notes from a Small Island
Notes from a Small Island, first published in 1995, takes readers to the island of Britain, Bryson’s home since 1977.
With a somewhat outsider view, the author, an American, captures the mannerisms and way of life of the British to the last detail, showing appreciation but also letting his unmistakable humor show through. At times hungover, he explores the British towns and countryside, noting its beauty and some of its rich history.
A travel book first and foremost, Notes from a Small Island will have you laugh out loud at least ten to fifteen times. The book is an ever-fresh look at Britain and can be enjoyed by those planning a trip to Britain or those readers who have lived their entire lives in the country.
“The British are so easy to please. It is the most extraordinary thing. They actually like their pleasures small.”
Bill Bryson
5. One Summer: America, 1927
In 1927, America was booming. The legendary American aviator Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, baseball star Babe Ruth was hitting a home run record, Al Capone was mastering bootlegging, the Jazz Age was taking off, and the motion picture industry was being born.
That same year, abnormal weather gave way to a more powerful federal state, the Great Migration of African-Americans from the South took place, and the first abhorrent steps of eugenics were made.
One Summer: 1927 is a record of a fascinating time in American history. Bryson collects the events of the year in America almost like a detective, putting together pieces of a puzzle and reconstructing the past. He does not gloss over the bad but does not forget the good either. The result is nonfiction at its best and a delightful read.
“Forty-two percent of all that was produced in the world was produced in the United States.”
Bill Bryson
6. Down Under
The land down under has always fascinated. In Down Under, Bryson explores Australia, its climate, its people, and its distinct personality, from East to West, North to South. Gigantic, wild, and rugged, Australia enthralled the author with its unique wildlife and untouched nature.
A talented storyteller, Bryson is able to imbue the places he describes in his books with an undeniable feeling of material reality, transporting the reader with his words. Australia’s history and geography are made available to each and all in Down Under through humorous anecdotes and a keen eye. The book will certainly convince you to add a visit to the land of the kangaroos to your to-do list.
“Australia is mostly empty and a long way away. Its population is small and its role in the world consequently peripheral. […] It is stable and peaceful and good. It doesn’t need watching, and so we don’t. But I will tell you this: the loss is entirely ours.”
Bill Bryson
7. Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
Neither Here nor There is the story of a journey. In the book, Bill Bryson retraces his steps from the early 70s, when he and his friend Stephen Katz toured Europe. We watch an older Bryson wittily analyze conventions, cultures, and social realities in countries across the old continent. He visits Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Austria, and many other countries, charging ahead like the explorers of days gone but with fewer weapons and more childlike wonder.
Bryson is inexorably attracted to differences of all kinds, and he visibly adores Europe because of the different ways that Europeans live, love, eat, and drink.
The book is insightful, touching, and probably sold more plane tickets than most traveling ads in recent history. We suggest you take it with you on your next trip away from home.
“I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.”
Bill Bryson
8. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
Full of little-known facts, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, looks at the human body in an entertaining, albeit entirely scientific way. Organs, diseases, historical events, curiosities – nothing escapes Bryson.
A popularizer of science, Bryson contextualizes key events in history that led to our understanding of the human body. Unlike many authors of academic or scientific tomes, the way he does it does not intimidate – but rather invites the reader to discover the wonders hidden within us.
Informative, funny, and popular, The Body should not be missed.
“Every day, it has been estimated, between one and five of your cells turn cancerous, and your immune system captures and kills them.”
Bill Bryson
9. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
In The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bryson, a baby boomer, writes the memoir of his generation’s childhood. He paints a vivid picture of life in the America of the 1950s, reaching deep into the past to fill his pages – and us – with a nostalgia for something we may have not even lived.
The author also lets his readers meet his colorful family, not to mention Stephen Katz, a familiar face from Bryson’s beloved A Walk in the Woods.
Funny throughout, Thunderbolt Kid is hard to put down, and can be enjoyed by teenagers but also senior readers. For this reason – and many others – it receives a special place on our list.
“I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.”
Bill Bryson
10. Made in America
Bryson’s Made in America is purportedly about the evolution of the English language in the United States. The book, however, is so much more, offering its readers humorous anecdotes and informative bits and pieces of history on every page.
Informative, and full of facts that are not just fed to you, but given to you in the form of stories, the book should be on every school’s mandatory reading list.
It is an absolute pleasure to get lost down the rabbit hole of familiar English words and phrases, following Bryson through history – and it might just convince you to fall in love with literature.
“If one attitude can be said to characterize America’s regard for immigration over the past two hundred years it is the belief that while immigration was unquestionably a wise and prescient thing in the case of one’s parents or grandparents, it really ought to stop now.”
Bill Bryson
