Shakespeare The World as a Stage by Bill Bryson

This was a quick read as far as books on Shakespeare go. I picked it up because I'm directing a Shakespeare play in the near future and wanted some background on the Bard, and England during that time period.

The book is loaded with fun facts and trivia which in my opinion make it interesting. There is really nothing new or earth shattering about Shakespeare in the book. And for the most part, Bryson stays away from the theories and controversies surrounding the authorship question. He saves those for a short chapter at the end and does try to debunk them. He has some pretty sound reasoning.

Bryson pulls together what few facts we know about Shakespeare and intersperses them with history of the time period. I recommend it, maybe not as a scholarly read, although he has done lots of research, but a good solid read on the life and times of Shakespeare.