Shakespeare

Little is known about Shakespeare's life, and in this brief biography Bryson makes no attempt to expand on the known details, as other authors have. Starting by presenting the paucity of facts, he goes on to sketch the life of the world's greatest playwright, from Stratford to London and back again. He also discusses the theories suggesting that Shakespeare's works were written by someone else, dismissing them as ludicrous. While Bryson's prose sparkles with Bard-worthy wit, his reading is lackluster, and this reviewer wonders why he doesn't entrust his audiobooks to more experienced narrators. This is an interesting, though brief, book about the Bard, and it deserves better. K.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine