A stunning and profound biography of the world's greatest writer. It makes a firm case that Shakespeare was no more able to segregate himself from his humanity than any of us. His plays and poetry become even more beautiful and powerful given Weis's striking and adept scholarship. A joy to read for lovers of Shakespeare and accessible to anyone interested in how a great artist might create great art. ( )

A thoroughly fascinating journey for anyone interested in the man behind the famous plays and sonnets. The author uses historical documents and what is known about events, locations and even other people who crossed paths with Shakespeare to fill in the gaps of what we don't know about this enigma of a man. Granted, much of it is conjecture: nothing more than a very educated guess. Yet Weis makes his arguments very convincing and even acknowledges the opposing views and competing theories along the way, often proving in the end (at least to my mind) why his view is the most logical. Although there is so much we may never know for certain about the life, both public and private, of William Shakespeare, there are new discoveries being made and more information may yet come to light. Until such time, I highly recommend Shakespeare Unbound as food for thought. ( )

Weis makes a credible case that Shakespeare's works were closely influenced by people and events in his life. While it's futile to speculate too closely about this, if Weis' misunderstanding of the history of the "Hamlet " character and legend is anything to go by, much of this book is wishful thinking. ( )