I like the work of Bill Bryson. I usually find myself laughing out loud, especially at his travel stuff. there are touches of that same humour in his book on Shakespeare and the whole thing fows really well. However, most of the book is spent knocking down theories about the life of the bard. If anything it teaches the reader to be very wary of anyone who tells you they know much about the life of Shakespeare. In fact, by the end it appeares that we don’t know very much,as one scholarly suggestion after another is knocked flat.THis becomes a bit frustrating, going through a theory only for it to be shown as,at best not proven, at worst as absolute rubbish. I quite enjoyed it and there are a few quality insights and laughs but i am not sure how much more i know about Shakespeare .