Perspective

The book is written from a variety of perspectives. In some cases, the author uses the first person to describe his own experiences. In others, he refers to the reader as "you" as though assuming that the reader is also a native speaker of English and is able to commiserate with the author on certain points in the narrative. At still other points, the author uses the third person, usually to describe historical events in an objective way.

The shift of perspective gives the book a very personal and informal tone while still allowing it to cover general ideas in a semi-scholarly way. The reader is sometimes engaged as part of the book and at other times is a more passive observer of the history that Bryson describes. Overall, the changing perspective allows Bryson to include a range of information and maintain a humorous and lightheartedness throughout the...