One of the world's most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world's most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everythingis the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining. From the Hardcover edition.
From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out. To accomplish this daunting literary task, Bill Bryson uses hundreds of sources, from popular science books to interviews with luminaries in various fields. His aim is to help people like him, who rejected stale school textbooks and dry explanations, to appreciate how we have used science to understand the smallest particles and the unimaginably vast expanses of space. With his distinctive prose style and wit, Bryson succeeds admirably. Though A Short History clocks in at a daunting 500-plus pages and covers the same material as every science book before it, it reads something like a particularly detailed novel (albeit without a plot). Each longish chapter is devoted to a topic like the age of our planet or how cells work, and these chapters are grouped into larger sections such as "The Size of the Earth" and "Life Itself." Bryson chats with experts like Richard Fortey (author of Life and Trilobite) and these interviews are charming. But it's when Bryson dives into some of science's best and most embarrassing fights--Cope vs. Marsh, Conway Morris vs. Gould--that he finds literary gold. --Therese Littleton
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Simply Amazing!:
Let me start by saying that this was one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I have ever read!
The author starts by explaining the beginning of the universe and he discusses it in a very intriguing and easy to understand way. The truly "astronomical" numbers are put into interesting analogies and you truly stand in awe at the information being presented. After this, the book diverts its attention to Earth, a topic which is just as fascinating as the first portion of the book. Bryson moves on... more info
Great Science And History Presented In An Entertaining Way:
Bill Bryson has created a wonderfully informative book, A Short History of Nearly Everything. In it, he presents a large amount of scientific findings and history in a very entertaining fashion. This book made me laugh out loud many times. This is a great book for anyone, but particularly people who enjoy science. This is one of the best science books I have ever read. Schools should replace science textbooks with this book. It is unlike many other science books, because it is so entertaining. Bryson does... more info
One of the best books that I have ever read:
Bill Bryson has raked together a sampling of all the technical knowledge that we have. Some of the conclusions may be questionable, but questioning is what man does best. This is a book that everyone should read. I am reading the book for the second time and have two other copies that I am circulating among my friends.
Everyone should read or listen to this book:
Anyone interested to know where we come from, how big is the universe is, how tiny is human history, how and where life "is", etc... must read this book. Hands down, one of the greatest books in its category written by a funny author with the ability to make complex things pleasant and easy to grasp. I suggest the complete audio CDs (17 hours). Started to read this book and the experience was somehow less interesting. Too many names are acknowledged throughout the book, I'd guess around 1000, and... more info
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