Length:: 6:00 Mins

When I ordered this I was expecting perhaps six CDs. It was an eye popping moment when it arrived and I read on the box that it contained fourteen discs, and that it was sixteen and a half hours long. I haven't seen the book but I'm guessing it's a big thick one.

Some people have complained that his voice isn't varied enough and too flat for such a long audiobook. I had zero problems with his delivery and didn't find it to be half as dry as some. I heard a lot of wry amusement in his voice and there are plenty of subtle little jokes throughout. It probably helped that I didn't treat the audiobook as a sprint, or a chore to get through as quickly as possible. I would imagine anyone's voice would grind you down if you listen to it for hours at a time. It took me over a month to listen to it at a leisurely pace, so that I could enjoy it and not have it go by in a lumpy blur. I started on the 17/7 and finished it on the 31/8/10. In total there are 277 tracks.

The book is structured by having Bryson take us through his Victorian parsonage house room by room for each chapter. In each room he gives us the history of how this sort of room came to be, and related history concerning what people over the ages have been doing in this sort of room.

In truth the structure doesn't quite work as he goes off on several massive tangents with tenuous connections to the supposed subject. I suppose I should complain but that would be to miss the point as these tangents are the real meat and point of the book. His interest in actual houses on a room by room basis comes a very distant second to getting to tell us as much as he can about everything he knows. It's just a useful way to set up and give his book shape.

The subjects the book covers is very wide. Of the top of my head subjects that are covered include architecture (designing and building), landscaping, the lives of clergymen, burial and cremation of the dead, the building of canals, clothing (fashion, wigs, materials etc), sewage (London in particular), life in servitude (downstairs), European aristocracy (upstairs), the American super-rich, archaeology, the move from candles to electrical bulbs for light, inventors and their inventions, diseases, a history of bedding, the industrial revolution, the theory of evolution, the discovery of America, childbirth before modern medicine, surgery before anaesthetics etc etc etc.

Is it a work of high quality history? I'm not qualified to say. No doubt, as he doesn't go into minute details on everything, he has simplified or omitted much detail. As a layman I enjoyed it as entertainment and I assume that it's accurate enough to withstand scrutiny by anyone who isn't a dedicated expert on each particular subject.

I can easily see myself returning to this book as it's highly entertaining and big enough to withstand many leisurely start to finish listens throughout the years.

I very highly recommend this audiobook. If you intend to use it as a reference, or would just like to be able to easily find specifics parts again, then perhaps the book version would be more useful than this audio version.

The video I've added to this review gives you an example of what the book is like.