An original journey inside our own home, to discover how simple yet essential things came to be in our lives. Have you ever wondered why, out of all the spices, we have developed such a strong bond with only salt and pepper? Or why does a fork have four tines, and not three or five? Did you know that the second most common cause of accidental death is falling from a ladder? Or that the Baths of Diocletian in ancient Rome could accommodate 3,000 people?

To answer these and many other questions, Bill Bryson wanders around his house and reveals the threads that surprisingly connect the things around us, in one of the most entertaining and enlightening books ever written about our way of life. Whatever happens in the world ultimately finds its way into our homes one way or another. Wars, famines, the Industrial Revolution, the Enlightenment – all of these are embedded in our sofas and dressers, […] in the paint of our walls and in the water flowing through our pipes.

The history of home life is therefore not just a story of beds and sofas and the kitchen oven, but also of scurvy and manure and the Eiffel Tower and bedbugs […]. Our homes are not sanctuaries from history. They are its final destination.

From the preface of the book

SAID THE PRESS: Bryson's enthusiasm will illuminate even the darkest corner of your house. The New York Times Book Review

A tour of Bryson's House includes history, politics, science, sex, and so much more. If this book didn't give you a conversation topic for the next five years, then you weren't paying it the attention it deserves. People Magazine

Bryson first delved into science in his remarkable A Short History of Nearly Everything. And this book could easily be labeled as a “Short History of the Rest (of Nearly Everything).” The Times

Excellent storytelling, humor, and self-deprecation, along with incredible breadth of knowledge… Everyone will find something in this book that will pleasantly surprise them. The Economist