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book data
10,837 ratings,
4.12
average rating, 1,748 reviews
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published
September 14th 2004
(first published 2003)
by Broadway
binding
Paperback, 544 pages
literary awards
Royal Society Prize (Science) 2004, Aventis Prize for best general science book 2004, EU Descartes Prize 2004
isbn
076790818X
(isbn13: 9780767908184)
description
From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out.
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 17,322)
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5 stars (4281)
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3 stars (1843)
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2 stars (423)
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1 star (113)
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avg 4.12
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in February, 2007
This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. There, I said it
Bryson's book combines the best qualities of science writers like Attenborough, Diamond, Durrell, and Wilson; presenting the information with the wit he is most known for. It is an amazing achievement to condense the entire base of human scientific knowledge into 478 pages, but Bryson has done it. I completely agree with Tim Flannery, who writes on the jacket that "all schools would be better places if it ...more
Bryson's book combines the best qualities of science writers like Attenborough, Diamond, Durrell, and Wilson; presenting the information with the wit he is most known for. It is an amazing achievement to condense the entire base of human scientific knowledge into 478 pages, but Bryson has done it. I completely agree with Tim Flannery, who writes on the jacket that "all schools would be better places if it ...more
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Read in September, 2007
Bryson's dead serious: this is a history of pretty much everything there is -- the planet, the solar system, the universe -- as well as a history of how we've come to know as much as we do. A book on science written by a non-scientist, this a perfect bridge between the humanities and the natural sciences. A course in the history of science should be mandatory for every teenager, and this should be the textbook.
Yes, it's a big, chunky book. No, it can't be trimmed down any further: wh...more
Yes, it's a big, chunky book. No, it can't be trimmed down any further: wh...more
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3 comments
Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
science dummies with a sense of humour.
I know virtually nothing about science, so it was with some trepidation that I began reading this introduction to life, the universe and everything, which deals with questions such as "How did the universe originate?" and "How much does planet Earth weigh?". I ended up enjoying the hell out of it, as Bryson's writing style is so witty and accessible that it frequently made me laugh out loud. He has a knack of telling you not just about major developments in the history of the...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone wanting to know how it all began
This is based upon the audio download from [www.audible.com].
Narrated by: Richard Matthews
Don’t let the 3 star rating mislead you. This was an awesome book and I’m certain others will think more highly of it. It is a great introduction for those not into the biography of the universe and the history of science. However, if you watch the Science Channel, History Channel, PBS, etc., then you’ll already know much of what’s covered. It is the true "Once upon...more
Narrated by: Richard Matthews
Don’t let the 3 star rating mislead you. This was an awesome book and I’m certain others will think more highly of it. It is a great introduction for those not into the biography of the universe and the history of science. However, if you watch the Science Channel, History Channel, PBS, etc., then you’ll already know much of what’s covered. It is the true "Once upon...more
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Okay, so here's my Bill Bryson story. I was in The Gladstone, a public house not too far from this very keyboard, with my friend Yvonne, who will remain nameless. We had been imbibing more than freely. A guy approached our table and asked me in a sly surreptitious manner if I was him. Him who? Was I Bill Bryson? Now it is true that I bear a very slight resemblance
http://www.speakingvolumes.co.uk/images/...
but you could also say that about Benny from Abba
http://www.abbaexpress.co.uk/benny/benny......more
http://www.speakingvolumes.co.uk/images/...
but you could also say that about Benny from Abba
http://www.abbaexpress.co.uk/benny/benny......more
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6 comments
Read in January, 2005
Bill Bryson is one of my favourite travel writers. He is immensely funny. He's an American married to a Brit and lives in the UK now. That has an influcence is his writing: he has taken up the dry, self-depreciating humour of the Brits while, at times, remained blunt and straight-forward, as Americans do.
This is his first attempt to write something other than travelling. The book is about science, general science for general public. It covers everything from astronomy to zoology, fro...more
This is his first attempt to write something other than travelling. The book is about science, general science for general public. It covers everything from astronomy to zoology, fro...more
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2 comments
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
The world...
Bill Bryson is excellent... so witty and funny. His writing makes me laugh out loud and cry with laughter - sometimes I can barely breathe.
His research is also wonderful and the facts, presented in this book, are not only interesting, but also startling, fascinating and stimulating. The whole book is wonderfully assembled and a delight to read, re-read and simply to dip into.
Indeed... I am re-reading again....
It is, however, a severe worry to me that many of t...more
His research is also wonderful and the facts, presented in this book, are not only interesting, but also startling, fascinating and stimulating. The whole book is wonderfully assembled and a delight to read, re-read and simply to dip into.
Indeed... I am re-reading again....
It is, however, a severe worry to me that many of t...more
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5 comments
There are, broadly speaking, two classes of interesting popular science books. The first class is written by scientists who want to reach a popular audience; the second class is written by journalists who find a particular scientific topic interesting. Good examples of the first class include the writing of Henri Poincare (The Value of Science is a recent printing of three of his books in one volume -- still relevant over a century after they appeared, and it made me wish I could read the orig...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone that enjoys earth science, living on earth, or understanding the planet on which they live.
I really love this book.
I really think you should read it.
I must admit that I'm somewhat biased; I was already a fan of Bryson's work, and I am generally interested in the sciences. Perhaps as a function of that, I believe this to be my favorite of his books (so far).
It's hard for me not to talk to people about the things I read in this book. I mean, it's all so completely interesting to me that I think it should be discussed at all times, in addition to the fac...more
I really think you should read it.
I must admit that I'm somewhat biased; I was already a fan of Bryson's work, and I am generally interested in the sciences. Perhaps as a function of that, I believe this to be my favorite of his books (so far).
It's hard for me not to talk to people about the things I read in this book. I mean, it's all so completely interesting to me that I think it should be discussed at all times, in addition to the fac...more
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Read in March, 2004
I found the title of this work somewhat misleading. Perhaps it should have been called A History of the Natural Sciences or maybe even A Short History of Natural History. Nevertheless, science books often do not sell well so I am sure the idea in titling the book A Short History of Nearly Everything was to attract more of a broad readership. The book itself isn't awful but certainly reads like a survey work. In other words, you won't learn complicated how-tos of scientific methodology but you wi...more
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I have to say this is by far one of the best books I've ever read. Although I haven't finished I'm in love with this book.
My chemistry teacher gave me it to read a while back and it took me a while to get started on it, but after I did I couldn't put it down. You don't have to have a real passion for physics or biology or chemistry to appreciate the book as a whole. Although I find some chapters more intresting than others, the footnotes that Bryson includes definetly make the book as lig...more
My chemistry teacher gave me it to read a while back and it took me a while to get started on it, but after I did I couldn't put it down. You don't have to have a real passion for physics or biology or chemistry to appreciate the book as a whole. Although I find some chapters more intresting than others, the footnotes that Bryson includes definetly make the book as lig...more
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Read in July, 2004
This book is what its title claims: a comprehensive—and often hilarious—look at the big moments in natural history, chemistry, biology, astronomy, etc. Bryson's breezy narrative style suits the project well, and his initial professed ignorance helps get the reader on board from the outset (no didacticism here—he’s a dummy like the rest of us (well, me, at any rate)). He may be prone to overdo the humor (or perhaps go too far in the cheese department), but the fact that he adopts a rath...more
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Read in May, 2007
Not everyone is a science geek. Bill knows that.
I am a science geek. Not that I took a lot of science courses, but it's a source of fascination for me. There was a lot of stuff I already knew -- if you've read A Brief History of Time the first two chapters are a wash -- but there was also a lot of stuff I didn't. It is miraculously accessible and funny, like all of Bryson's work.
This is a textbook on its face, but at its heart is the diary of a grown man coming home e...more
I am a science geek. Not that I took a lot of science courses, but it's a source of fascination for me. There was a lot of stuff I already knew -- if you've read A Brief History of Time the first two chapters are a wash -- but there was also a lot of stuff I didn't. It is miraculously accessible and funny, like all of Bryson's work.
This is a textbook on its face, but at its heart is the diary of a grown man coming home e...more
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Read in November, 2008
I wanted to share a story about the Introduction. I was reading on the page that tells about him seeing the cut-out of the earth when he was a boy and just being fascinated by it: how did they know what was down there in the center of the earth, etc. I have the hefty illustrated edition, so it showed the cut out. My 7-year-old daughter walks in, looks at the picture and says, "Can they really take out part of the earth like that?" I told her no. "Can they dig down that far?"...more
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6 comments
Read in April, 2009
i feel like i've conquered something, finally finishing this book. it's like a tome of superlatives. it's like the title should be IN CAPS WITH EXCLAMATION POINTS !!! it's like if i'd had this book (and bill nye) in high school and college, i would have cared more (however, i still don't care about chemistry). if this book and my favorite book had a baby, my brain would spooge. bless you, bill bryson, for bringing it.
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I got into a conversation with someone at a conference about this book. It made me remember how much I enjoy his writing. As my fellow lunch conversationalist said, "Bill Bryson has a talent for finding the absurd about any situation and relating it in a way that is eminently funny and engaging." (And yes, the lunch conversationalist was a bit pompous.)
However, pomposity does not negate the fact that this is a great book. As the title suggests, it really is about almost...more
However, pomposity does not negate the fact that this is a great book. As the title suggests, it really is about almost...more
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Read in March, 2008
There is just far too much in here to review in any sort of rational way. The book matches the title well: it is a short history of nearly anything, and as such, sinks its teeth truly into nothing. The best parts were all the random funny asides about the peculiar personality types of strange scientists, which is very amusing and reminiscent of his other works (the travel genre) from which he is more famous. In general, it is an enjoyable fluffy read, but sadly, not informative enough for those ...more
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Read in March, 2008
It says I finished this is March 2008 but it is important to note I started it last summer. It took a long time. Interestingly though that doesn't mean it was bad, it is just long and caters easily to frequently month long stops. It is an easy book to pick up and start anywhere. All in all I really liked it, it is mostly a nicely written history of science and some sciences have more interesting history's than others but they all have their eccentrics.
Bill Byrson is always entertaining an...more
Bill Byrson is always entertaining an...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Everyone should read this book. There is so much information in this book and I believe everyone will get something different out of it. You will learn a lot about human beings need for knowledge while at the same time our some what automatic reaction to reject ideas that contradict our old way of thinking. It reminds us of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go,how little we really know about the universe and how we got here. That there is still so much mystery to it all. My fa...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in February, 2006
recommended to Alison by:
Melanie Avesrecommends it for: Absolutely anyone
Thought this book was amazing. What an undertaking: to encompass the history of the universe in one single book. Yet he does it with incredible grace and credibility. His capacity for research, for organized thought, and for presenting complex information in an entertaining while still informative way is pretty incredible. The book became the basis for countless conversations while I was reading it -- it's full of information/facts/data that are great fodder for thought and chatter. This would b...more
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quotes from this book
"Incidentally, disturbance from cosmic background radiation is something we have all experienced. Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive, and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this ancient remnant of the Big Bang. The next time you complain that there is nothing on, remember that you can always watch the birth of the universe."
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