Bill Bryson considers what most of history really consists of centuries upon centuries of people quietly going about their daily business He started a journey around his house, an old rectory in Norfolk, wandering from room to room considering how the ordinary things in life came to be Along the way he allowed himself delightful digressions on the history of everything from architecture to epidemics, from food preservation to the discovery of electricity, and from crinolines to toilets And to his dismay, he also encountered a terrifying variety of dangers to our health and happiness