As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Bill Bryson Books in Order

Find every Bill Bryson book in order, including standalone titles and complete series reading orders with publication years.

Updated 2026-07-11 / 51 books / 9 series

Bill Bryson is an American-born British author best known for his humorous travelogues and popular science books, including *A Walk in the Woods* and *A Short History of Nearly Everything*. His works have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. This page lists Bill Bryson’s books in order, covering both chronological publication and series reading order.

All Bill Bryson Books in Chronological Order

1984 Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words POoLB / 1 Buy
1985 The Palace Under the Alps POoTB / 1 Buy
1989 The Lost Continent POoTB / 2 Buy
1990 The Mother Tongue POoLB / 2 Buy
1991 Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time(By: Karen Armstrong) POoELB / 1 Buy
1992 Neither Here nor There POoTB / 3 Buy
1994 Made in America POoLB / 3 Buy
1995 Notes from a Small Island POoTB / 4 Buy
1997 A Walk in the Woods POoTB / 5 Buy
1998 I'm a Stranger Here Myself / Notes from a Big Country POoTB / 6 Buy
2000 The Best American Travel Writing 2000 POoTBATWB / 1 Buy
2000 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity(With: Marina Warner,Christopher Lloyd,Jennifer Jenkins,David Bellamy,Robin Hanbury-Tenbison,Anna Parord) POoTB / 7 Buy
2000 In a Sunburned Country / Down Under POoTB / 8 Buy
2002 Bill Bryson's African Diary POoTB / 9 Buy
2003 A Short History of Nearly Everything POoSB / 1 Buy
2004 Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero(By: Michael Korda) POoELB / 2 Buy
2004 A Really Short History of Nearly Everything POoSB / 2 Buy
2004 George Balanchine(By: Robert Gottlieb) POoELB / 3 Buy
2005 Beethoven(By: Edmund Morris) POoELB / 4 Buy
2005 Thomas Jefferson(By: Christopher Hitchens) POoELB / 5 Buy
2005 Caravaggio(By: Francine Prose) POoELB / 6 Buy
2005 Alexander the Great(By: Norman F. Cantor) POoELB / 7 Buy
2006 The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir POoNB / 2 Buy
2006 Freud(By: Peter D. Kramer) POoELB / 8 Buy
2006 Francis Crick(By: Matt Ridley) POoELB / 9 Buy
2006 Alexis de Tocqueville(By: Joseph Epstein) POoELB / 10 Buy
2007 Shakespeare POoNB / 3 Buy
2007 Machiavelli(By: Ross King) POoELB / 12 Buy
2008 Icons of England POoHB / 1 Buy
2008 Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors POoLB / 4 Buy
2009 George Washington(By: Paul Johnson) POoELB / 13 Buy
2010 At Home: A Short History of Private Life POoHB / 2 Buy
2010 Seeing Further POoSB / 3 Buy
2011 The Best American Travel Writing 2011(By: Sloane Crosley) POoTBATWB / 2 Buy
2012 The Best American Travel Writing 2012(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 3 Buy
2013 One Summer: America, 1927 POoHB / 3 Buy
2013 The Best American Travel Writing 2013(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 4 Buy
2014 The Best American Travel Writing 2014(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 5 Buy
2015 Myth and Landscape(By: Marina Warner,Ibrahim al-Koni,DavidParker) POoMWTB / 2 Buy
2015 The Best American Travel Writing 2015(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 6 Buy
2015 The Road to Little Dribbling POoTB / 10 Buy
2016 The Best American Travel Writing 2016 POoTBATWB / 7 Buy
2017 The Best American Travel Writing 2017(By: Jason Wilson,Lauren Collins) POoTBATWB / 8 Buy
2018 The Best American Travel Writing 2018(By: Cheryl Strayed) POoTBATWB / 9 Buy
2019 The Body POoSB / 4 Buy
2019 The Best American Travel Writing 2019(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 10 Buy
2020 The Best American Travel Writing 2020(By: Jason Wilson) POoTBATWB / 11 Buy
2021 The Best American Travel Writing 2021(By: Padma Lakshmi) POoTBATWB / 12 Buy
2022 The Secret History of Christmas POoNB / 4 Buy
2023 The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection POoSSC / 1 Buy
2025 A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 POoSB / 5 Buy

Bill Bryson Book Series Reading Orders / browse all ->

01 The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection 2023 Buy
02 The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir 2006 Buy
03 Shakespeare 2007 Buy
04 The Secret History of Christmas 2022 Buy
Travel Books in Reading Order 10 books / 1985-2015
01 The Palace Under the Alps 1985 Buy
02 The Lost Continent 1989 Buy
03 Neither Here nor There 1992 Buy
04 Notes from a Small Island 1995 Buy
05 A Walk in the Woods 1997 Buy
06 I'm a Stranger Here Myself / Notes from a Big Country 1998 Buy
07 The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity(With: Marina Warner,Christopher Lloyd,Jennifer Jenkins,David Bellamy,Robin Hanbury-Tenbison,Anna Parord) 2000 Buy
08 In a Sunburned Country / Down Under 2000 Buy
09 Bill Bryson's African Diary 2002 Buy
10 The Road to Little Dribbling 2015 Buy
Language Books in Reading Order 4 books / 1984-2008
01 Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words 1984 Buy
02 The Mother Tongue 1990 Buy
03 Made in America 1994 Buy
04 Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors 2008 Buy
Science Books in Reading Order 5 books / 2003-2025
01 A Short History of Nearly Everything 2003 Buy
02 A Really Short History of Nearly Everything 2004 Buy
03 Seeing Further 2010 Buy
04 The Body 2019 Buy
05 A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 2025 Buy
01 The Best American Travel Writing 2000 2000 Buy
02 The Best American Travel Writing 2011(By: Sloane Crosley) 2011 Buy
03 The Best American Travel Writing 2012(By: Jason Wilson) 2012 Buy
04 The Best American Travel Writing 2013(By: Jason Wilson) 2013 Buy
05 The Best American Travel Writing 2014(By: Jason Wilson) 2014 Buy
06 The Best American Travel Writing 2015(By: Jason Wilson) 2015 Buy
07 The Best American Travel Writing 2016 2016 Buy
08 The Best American Travel Writing 2017(By: Jason Wilson,Lauren Collins) 2017 Buy
09 The Best American Travel Writing 2018(By: Cheryl Strayed) 2018 Buy
10 The Best American Travel Writing 2019(By: Jason Wilson) 2019 Buy
11 The Best American Travel Writing 2020(By: Jason Wilson) 2020 Buy
12 The Best American Travel Writing 2021(By: Padma Lakshmi) 2021 Buy
History Books in Reading Order 3 books / 2008-2013
01 Icons of England 2008 Buy
02 At Home: A Short History of Private Life 2010 Buy
03 One Summer: America, 1927 2013 Buy
01 Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time(By: Karen Armstrong) 1991 Buy
02 Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero(By: Michael Korda) 2004 Buy
03 George Balanchine(By: Robert Gottlieb) 2004 Buy
04 Beethoven(By: Edmund Morris) 2005 Buy
05 Thomas Jefferson(By: Christopher Hitchens) 2005 Buy
06 Caravaggio(By: Francine Prose) 2005 Buy
07 Alexander the Great(By: Norman F. Cantor) 2005 Buy
08 Freud(By: Peter D. Kramer) 2006 Buy
09 Francis Crick(By: Matt Ridley) 2006 Buy
10 Alexis de Tocqueville(By: Joseph Epstein) 2006 Buy
12 Machiavelli(By: Ross King) 2007 Buy
13 George Washington(By: Paul Johnson) 2009 Buy
02 Myth and Landscape(By: Marina Warner,Ibrahim al-Koni,DavidParker) 2015 Buy

Where to start with Bill Bryson

What is the best order to read Bill Bryson books?

Publication order is usually the safest place to start. If a book belongs to a series, follow the numbered series reading order shown on this page.

Are standalone books and series both included?

Yes. Standalone titles appear in the full chronological bibliography, and series are broken out separately with reading-order links when catalog data is available.

More authors

Deborah Fletcher Mello -> Patrick F. McManus -> Tom Tomorrow -> A.S. King ->

Source note: Sequencebooks organizes author, book, and series records from its catalog data. Publication years and series order are shown when available.