Much more than just 'Bill going on about Bill' - Rated 
There's not much to go on in terms of solid evidence for anyone trying to write a biography of Shakespeare, but Bryson's done a good job with what little we do actually know about the man. And he gets stuck into the various 'alternative' (a.k.a crackpot) theories about the Bard to; his comments on the 'Marlowe' theory definitely hit the nail on the head.
Stalking the Bard - Rated 
Iowa-raised and presumably corn-fed Bill Bryson is perhaps best known for his humorous travel essays about such places as England (NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND), Australia (IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY), the Appalachian Trail (A WALK IN THE WOODS), rural America (THE LOST CONTINENT), and, well, just about everywhere you can think of (A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING). His love of England, which I share, is what originally marked him as one of my favorite authors.
As one who obviously enjoys stringing words together and, moreover, has written books on the subject (THE MOTHER TONGUE and BRYSON'S DICTIONARY OF TROUBLESOME WORDS), it's not terribly surprising that Bill has combined his affections for England and its language in a volume about its greatest (play)writer, SHAKESPEARE: THE WORLD AS STAGE. And, of course they're both named William.
Bryson admits up front that there's very little in the way of hard facts about William Shakespeare. But, in Bill's hands, that plus what can be deduced or inferred expands to a very satisfying and entertaining volume even for the culturally destitute reader who may not be a aficionado of the Bard's stuff. Like myself.
Bill sets the stage, so to speak, with a cursory examination of the English period contemporary with his subject: the monarchy of Elizabeth I, certain London structures (London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral), the Thames, religious turmoil, public pastimes, the state of the London theater scene, the business of being a playwright, the structure of contemporary plays, and the art of bookbinding. With those considerations functioning as a contextual backdrop, the products of Shakespeare's life that can be directly studied - his parentage, plays, poetry, written vocabulary, will, and other rare public records in which he's mentioned - serve to flesh out the man to the extent possible. There's even a final chapter on the historical and modern claimants to the authorship of Shakespeare's works, which claims some otherwise accomplished people take seriously. (Just as the current Royal Family had Princess Di murdered. You think?)
The author's paramount strength is the congeniality of his dialogue with his readers. He could, no doubt, make the description of fabricating wire hangers amusing, interesting, and instructive. SHAKESPEARE isn't Bill's best work, perhaps because the scope of the subject matter is so narrow, but it does deserve a place on the bookshelves of his fans.
Pretentious, pompous and full of pre-conceptions - Rated 
This really has to be one of the worst books that I have managed to read from beginning to end - although it was a major struggle. Thank goodness it is as short as it is, otherwise I would never have made it.
If you are looking for information or scholarship about Shakespeare - you will get more from a browse through Wikipedia. Instead, you have a Daily Mail gossip columnist type of article packed with man-of-the-world type sneers at academics and intellectuals. Repetitive in the extreme, the same facts are served up to you three or four times - sometimes in as few pages - to pack this book out and squeeze it over the 150 page mark.
This book has plenty of observations dished up in "witty" Bryson style but few if any are about Shakespeare - most of them reflect on Bryson and his Whiggish view of Elizabethan England. Throughout the book character assasinations are committed summarily with the most flimsy of reasoning behind them, but instead served with salacious details as quasi-justification. The comments about Edward de Vere are particularly poor, even by Bryson's low standards.
Perhaps the thing which I found most odious however were the obsequious references to Shakespeare as England's greatest ever poet and playwright, which pepper the text. I suppose these were designed to give the text some kind of authority - but frankly they come across as trite and insubstantial. Then again, the same criticism can be made of the whole book.
An interesting surprise! - Rated
This is not my normal type of reading at all - I am much more inclined to read fiction and have never actually read a Bill Bryson. But I love anything to do with Shakespeare so was moved to buy it. And what a nice surprise I got! A great little book full of quirky and interesting facts about Shakespeare's time (such as better-off people wearing black as black dye cost more and people having black teeth as a result of eating sugar, but those who couldn't afford the sugar made their teeth black to make it look as if they could!!). Certainly a book to keep on the shelves to refer to again. I would definitely recommend it to any Shakespeare fans.
perfectly fine little book - Rated
I have to admit that having read a few introductions to good editions (such as the Arden and Penguin introduction on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage) and Bryson's other book Mother Tongue (which covers much of what S had given to the language)that i found myself already knowing a great deal of what was written here.
I think that this is the ideal first book you should read about Shakespeare. Perhaps ideal for those who are interested beyond the film adaptations of S they have seen. It sets out what is absolutely known about the about someone who is practically unknowable, save a few legal documents a portrait and lots of historical context. Bryson delivers this information in his ever enjoyable tone that is as friendly and as funny as the 'Book' in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
This the book simply seems to build up to debunking the Oxfordian theories of authorship. Since the subject of Shakespeare is so slight (which is of course no fault of the author) i can't help but feel that more should have been written about the life of the plays after Shakespeare, and their importance to human culture. this much is already assumed to be known to the reader... but as i said had this been the ideal 'first book someone should read about S' more upon the 'life's work after the life' should have been explored.
In short: Great First book on subject, but you do yourself a disservice to make it your last.
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