This new edition of the acclaimed bestseller is lavishly illustrated to convey, in pictures as in words, Bill Bryson’s exciting, informative journey into the world of science.In A Short History of Nearly Everything, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body, confronts his greatest challenge yet: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed … answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his 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. The result 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.
Now, in this handsome new edition, Bill Bryson’s words are supplemented by full-color artwork that explains in visual terms the concepts and wonder of science, at the same time giving face to the major players in the world of scientific study. Eloquently and entertainingly described, as well as richly illustrated, science has never been more involving or entertaining.
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Bryson does a wonderful job of making complicated stuff interesting and readable. A book about geeky subjects that you don’t have to be a geek to enjoy.
Bryson applies brilliant journalistic flair and humour in his wonderful explanation for the secrets of the universe.
Loved it
Bryson is terrific
Full of insights and humor
You can’t pass trough this world without reading this great book
Who knew that Bill Bryson (“A Walk in the Woods”) could take complex subjects – astronomy, paleontology, physics, and anthropology – and explain them so simply for you and me?
Sure, you learned Einstein’s famous equation: Energy equals Mass times the Speed of Light squared. But what does it mean? “In simplest terms, what the equation says is that mass and energy have an equivalence. They are two forms of the same thing; energy is liberated matter; matter is energy waiting to happen.” Beautiful!
Where do we come from? “For the first 99.99999 percent of our history as organisms, we were in the same ancestral line as chimpanzees. Virtually nothing is known about the prehistory of chimpanzees, but whatever they were, we were.”
In fact, we’ve still got a lot of chimp in us. Homo sapiens is a “creature that is still 98.4 percent genetically indistinguishable from the modern chimpanzee. There is more difference between a zebra and a horse or between a dolphin and a porpoise than there is between you and the furry creatures your distant ancestors left behind when they set out to take over the world.”
Yes, Bryson is quotable and readable, and I highly recommend this book if the many subject matters from the Big Bang to the start of civilization interest you.
Bill Bryson on history is interesting and fun! This is worth your time.
I use this as a reference in my biology classes all the time. Thank you Bill Bryson.
Bill Bryson hits a home run with this book. It’s a bit dated now – Science moves FAST – but still an amazing listen with lots of historical science tidbits.
I love the way Bryson writes, but to tell the truth I think in giving me this book my daughter overestimated the size of my brain….it hurt my head, I didn’t finish it, I passed it along to my granddaughter who’s getting her PhD in nuclear physics.
Bill Bryson at his finest. Careful research and history woven into great prose and clever storytelling. Loved it!
This is a great book, a must read
Bill Bryson’s books are so funny that I cannot read them on airplanes at risk of looking like I’ve lost my mind. This one is also full of amazing facts.
Bryson is this era’s most enjoyable writer. In this book, and all his others, he deftly matches enlightenment with a biting wit. You will learn and laugh while reading this fine synopsis of our world.
A Short History of Nearly Everything begins with the origin of the universe and proceeds through cosmology, physics, chemistry and biology to humans and our place in existence. Bryson is capable of wildly funny writing (notably A Walk in the Woods) but here turns his considerable talents to a panoramic tour of science and how the pieces of our knowledge of the physical world fit together. As a science geek I have read this book three times and never fail to get caught up in its sweeping vision.
Fascinating read, very accessible
An accessible, fun romp through the history of science — if you’ve ever read Bill Bryson before, you’ll want to read this one before you begin his latest, THE BODY.
The year I read it, I gave it to almost everyone on my Christmas list.
Bryson does an excellent job making science approachable and understandable. Some of the information is dated now, such as discussing Pluto as a planet, but the vast majority is still on point. Bryson turns the pursuit of science into stories, bringing the scientists into the historical perspective and interspersing the narrative with his usual wit and wisdom.
Covers the histories and explanations of a diverse number of sciences in understandable language.
Wondeful