Bill Bryson Knihy

Príručka pre majiteľov ľudského tela. Celý život trávime v jednom tele, a predsa väčšina z nás v skutočnosti netuší, ako telo funguje a čo sa v ňom odohráva. História anatómie a medicíny je plná zabudnutých hrdinov, ohromujúcich príbehov a zaujímavých faktov. Mimochodom, od okamihu, ako ste začali čítať túto vetu, vo vašom tele vznikol asi milión červených krviniek. Kniha Ľudské telo je naozaj fascinujúca, komplexná a prístupná. Vydajte sa s autorom na cestu do hlbín ľudského tela a zistite, ako funguje, čo sa v ňom môže pokaziť a ako skvele sa dokáže uzdraviť. Uvedomíte si, že sme oveľa zložitejší a záhadnejší, než ste si mysleli. Kniha je napísaná z pohľadu erudovaného a inteligentného laika, ktorý venoval veľa času štúdiu rozličných zdrojov informácií a jednotlivé aspekty ľudského tela ho úprimne fascinovali. Téma bola preňho nová, vo svojej kariére sa totiž venoval najmä cestopisom a dejinám vedy. Dielo poteší najmä čitateľov, ktorí hľadajú zaujímavosti o ľudskom tele a o chorobách. Nenájdete v ňom systematický prehľad ľudského tela, chorôb, diagnostiky či liečby. Práve tento aspekt mu vyčítali niektorí kritici a čitatelia. Bill Bryson však evidentne postupoval podľa kľúča, ktorý si stanovil – informácie museli byť zaujímavé, neošúchané a k veci. Ďalším pútavým aspektom je autorov dôvtip, nadhľad, zmysel pre humor a pokora, s ktorou nepriamo upozorňuje, že o ľudskom tele a jeho fungovaní ešte vieme veľmi málo.

Neuveriteľná poznávacia jazda svetom vedy Zem je náš jediný domov v celom vesmíre. Poznáte ju dobre? Určite ste sa o nej všeličo dozvedeli na hodinách geografie, biológie, fyziky či chémie, no jej skutočný príbeh je oveľa fascinujúcejší. Kniha Stručná história takmer všetkého vás zoberie na jedinečné potulky. Zo žeravého jadra planéty sa vyšplháte až na Mount Everest, od veľkého tresku prejdete až po 21. storočie. Nazriete do vnútra atómu aj za oponu nekonečného vesmíru. Za všetky poznatky, ktoré v súčasnosti máme, vďačíme géniom, odvážlivcom a pracovitým vedcom minulosti, ktorí hľadaniu pravdy obetovali roky mravčej práce. Občas im však pomohla aj šťastná náhoda. Súčasťou príbehu Zeme ste aj vy, lebo všetko, čo sa tu zatiaľ odohralo, nepochybne viedlo k vašej existencii.

In summer 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest), a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and an unknown aviator named Charles Lindbergh who became the most famous man on earth. It was the summer that saw the birth of talking pictures, the invention of television, the peak of Al Capone's reign of terror, the horrifying bombing of a school in Michigan, the thrillingly improbable return to greatness of over-the-hill baseball player Babe Ruth, and an almost impossible amount more. In this hugely entertaining book, Bill Bryson spins a tale of brawling adventure, reckless optimism and delirious energy. With the trademark brio, wit and authority that make him Britain's favourite writer of narrative non-fiction, he brings to life a forgotten summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world.

In the company of his friend Stephen Katz (last seen in the bestselling Neither Here nor There), Bill Bryson set off to hike the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world. Ahead lay almost 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats, rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, disease-bearing tics, the occasional chuckling murderer and - perhaps most alarming of all - people whose favourite pastime is discussing the relative merits of the external-frame backpack. Facing savage weather, merciless insects, unreliable maps and a fickle companion whose profoundest wish was to go to a motel and watch The X-Files, Bryson gamely struggled through the wilderness to achieve a lifetime's ambition - not to die outdoors.

It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life - a large portion of it quite deadly. In tact, Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else. Ignoring such dangers - and yet curiously obsessed by them - Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country. And who can blame him ? The people are cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted and unfailingly obliging : their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water ; the food is excellent ; the beer is cold and the sun nearly always shines. Life doesn't get much better than this...

Now living in a 19th-century church rectory in Norfolk, England, the author decides to learn about the ordinary things of life by exploring each room in his house; and takes us on a tour with him ....

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife the chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week, and, most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and Gardeners' Question Time -- Back cover

Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nationâe(tm)s heart and became the bestselling travel book ever, and was also voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.Now, to mark the twentieth anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey round Britain to see what has changed. Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesnâe(tm)t altogether recognize any more. Yet, despite Britainâe(tm)s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas. Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.

The book has achieved bestseller status in both hardback and paperback formats, highlighting its widespread popularity and appeal among readers. Its compelling narrative and engaging characters have resonated with a diverse audience, contributing to its commercial success. This recognition underscores the book's impact and relevance in contemporary literature.

Cover Illustration: Trevor Scobie Set the controls for the heart of the sun. The Captain bent in the warm air, cursing, felt his hands run over the cold machine, and while he worked he saw a future which was removed from them by the merest breath. He saw the skin peel from the rocket beehive, men thus revealed running, running, mouths shrieking, soundless. Space was a black mossed well where life drowned its roars and terrors. Scream a big scream, but space snuffed it out before it was half up your throat. Men scurried, ants in a flaming matchbox; the ship was dripping lava, gushing steam, nothing! Journey with the century's most popular fantasy writer into a world of wonder and horror beyond your wildest dreams. Contents: - The Fog Horn (1951) - The Pedestrian (1951) - The April Witch (1952) - The Wilderness (1952) - The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl (1948) - Invisible Boy (1945) - The Flying Machine (1953) - The Murderer (1953) - The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind (1953) - I See You Never (1947) - Embroidery (1951) - The Big Black and White Game (1945) - A Sound of Thunder (1952) - The Great Wide World Over There (1952) - Powerhouse (1948) - En la Noche (1952) - Sun and Shadow (1953) - The Meadow (1953) - The Garbage Collector (1953) - The Great Fire (1949) - Hail and Farewell (1953) - The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953)