Bill Bryson: The BBC Radio Collection

by Bill Bryson

An anthology of BBC Radio documentaries featuring the bestselling author

Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.

This sparkling collection features seven BBC Radio programmes that collectively illuminate his personal passions. In The Art of Travel, he talks to Annette Kobak about his memorable journeys around the USA; while in the 6-part series Divided by a Common Language, he scours American history in an attempt to find out why Americans talk and behave differently from British people. Journeys in English, based on his acclaimed book Mother Tongue, sees him romping through the history of Britain in six episodes, to reveal how English became the complex yet world-beating language it is today.

Ramblings: Windsor Great Park finds Bill heading out across the royal park in the company of Clare Balding, as he discusses his love for walking and exploring. As a castaway on Desert Island Discs, he shares the soundtrack of his life with Sue Lawley; and in With Great Pleasure, he selects some of his favourite writing, including Evelyn Waugh's Scoop, a Hardy Boys classic and Three Men in a Boat. Finally, in Bookclub, he chats to James Naughtie and an audience of readers about A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Contents

The Art of Travel: Bill Bryson

Divided by a Common Language

Journeys in English

Ramblings: Windsor Great Park with Bill Bryson

Desert Island Discs: Bill Bryson

With Great Pleasure: Bill Bryson

Bookclub: Bill Bryson

Production credits

The Art of Travel: Bill Bryson

Presented by Annette Kobak

Produced by Kate McAII

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 January 1991

Divided by a Common Language

Presented by Bill Bryson

Produced by Brian King

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 July-2 September 1995

Journeys in English

Written and presented by Bill Bryson

Produced by Brian King

First broadcast as Mother Tongue on BBC Radio 4, 13 December 1997-17 January 1998

Ramblings: Windsor Great Park with Bill Bryson

Presented by Clare Balding

Produced by Lucy Lunt

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24 September 2015

Desert Island Discs: Bill Bryson

Presented by Sue Lawley

Produced by Angie Nehring

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 January 1999

With Great Pleasure: Bill Bryson

Readers: Kerry Shale and Bill Wallis

Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 September 1999

Bookclub: Bill Bryson

Presented by James Naughtie

Produced by Dymphna Flynn

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 February 2005

Genres: Audiobook, Travel, Nonfiction, Language, History

Audiobook

Published April 6, 2023

About the author

Bill Bryson is a bestselling American-British author known for his witty and accessible nonfiction books spanning travel, science, and language. He rose to prominence with Notes from a Small Island (1995), an affectionate portrait of Britain, and solidified his global reputation with A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a popular science book that won the Aventis and Descartes Prizes. Raised in Iowa, Bryson lived most of his adult life in the UK, working as a journalist before turning to writing full-time. His other notable works include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and The Mother Tongue. Bryson served as Chancellor of Durham University (2005–2011) and received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including an honorary OBE and election as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Though he announced his retirement from writing in 2020, he remains one of the most beloved voices in contemporary nonfiction, with over 16 million books sold worldwide.

Reviews

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting listen through some of the radio shows this author has been involved in. I love BB's sense of humour and really enjoyed this.

[my.bookshelf.87 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a selection of radio documentaries, starring Bill Bryson. Each chapter features a different topic but mostly fixates on language and its origins. Travel, culture and history are also discussed in depth. A really interesting and educational listen, although I'm not sure how much information I will actually retain!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of documentaries featuring Bill Bryson.

Some of the episodes are broad in nature, but most focus on the differences and history of the global language, primarily the differences between UK and US English.

This collection is an educational ‘read’ which I really enjoyed.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. On “an author I’d like to meet” checklist, Bill Bryson ranks highly. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a number of his books and was interested to hear this content, in his own voice. This is an excellent collection of recorded material. I learned a lot from the 6 part series; Divided by a Common Language, which is a fine example of what he does so well as a day job. Whereas, it was also as insightful to get to know Bill from a more personal perspective in the Ramblings (with Clare Balding), his Desert Island disc selections and his favourite writing in With Great Pleasure.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Bryson is such a gifted writer and storyteller. This compilation of many of his work and discussion on his writing provides some insight into his mind. And it’s not at all scary. The way he describes events draws the reader in and then there’s always some tidbit of little known information, often wrapped in humor you can’t forget. Amazing to live in the same time as this literary genius.

[Elyse French · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here is the thing: I enjoyed most of this book but I can't get past Bryson's nostalgia for the 1950s. Did America really "have it right" in the 50s? I would hazard a guess that people of color and women and the queer community might have a different opinion.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable in parts, even though I had heard most of these radio interviews and shows before.

[Subjuntivo Subjuntivo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was bored and dropped it.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were interesting and others not, I certainly don’t get British humor.

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed Mr Bryson for many years now though the majority of his travel works are very old. This is similar, the radio broadcasts mostly dating to the 1990’s. Some of them are broad in nature: Mr Bryson in the UK and his thoughts about the country and its people, expressed with less sarcasm than in the books.

The rest is made up of series on the English language and its history. This is a fascinating subject and being able to hear is much better than simply read it. These episodes slowly built up from 16th and 17th century language into the present, including regional dialects. The topic is quite well covered in the author’s own book on the subject, but it was nonetheless very interesting to go through the subject again.

Overall, there’s nothing completely new to prior fans of Mr Bryson in this, but it’s also nice to go back and remind oneself of those prior works.

This review was originally posted on my blog.