A Short History of Nearly Everything

published	by Black Swan
first published	2008
binding	Paperback
isbn	0552151742 (isbn13: 9780552151740)
ebook
pages	688
description	There must be a special place in author's heaven for writers like Bill Bryson (In a Sunburned Country, Neither Here Nor There), those bo...more [close] There must be a special place in author's heaven for writers like Bill Bryson (In a Sunburned Country, Neither Here Nor There), those bold enough to tackle the seemingly insurmountable and, improbably, succeed. With the aptly named A Short History of Nearly Everything Bryson has, quite simply, documented the advent of the universe in just under 500 pages, charting the evolution of man, planet Earth, its oceans and mountains, and all the atoms holding them together. And he explores the cosmos beyond. He asks how each was created and then sets out, quasi-scientifically, to explain it. And he doesn't just regurgitate scores of books, although that's part of it. Bryson introduces pioneering researchers into the fray, giving face to some pretty impressive (in some cases outrageous) theories of why things are the way they are. It's an astonishing synthesis of information, and if contemporary paleontologists, geologists, astronomers, physicists, chemists, and various other people of science dismiss History as strictly layman, then Bryson has truly succeeded in his task. He tells us why there are diamonds in South Africa but not Iowa, why old panes of glass are thicker at the bottom than on top, and why the Earth's oceans are more mysterious to us than the Moon. Best, Bryson tells us things that should be dry as dust in language as sparkly as sunshine on chrome, often through inventive personification. Take his description of carbon: "It is shamelessly promiscuous. It is the party animal of the atomic world, latching on to many other atoms (including itself) and holding tight, forming molecular conga lines of hearty robustness." Or this: "White cells are merciless and will hunt down and kill every last pathogen they can find." At times the sheer breadth of data conveyed is overwhelming, but Bryson consistently inspires awe--in himself and his subject matter--while teaching us really neat stuff along the way. --Kim Hughes [close]
date added	05-09-07 edit book

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Foster rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

10/12/07

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 were the...more 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 were the core science reader on the curriculum." I certainly would have gained much if I had read it when I was 15.

This is one of the few books that has truly challenged what I had previously held to be conventional wisdom (at least in my own mind). Two main changes have come about:

1. I had always been jealous of the "true" zoologists, such as Audubon and Darwin, who were around when the world was as yet unexplored, and discovering a species was as simple as being the first to walk into a patch of forest. I left science because the idea of being tied to a sterile lab held no interest for me. However, after reading Bryson's vignettes of early scientific/zoological exploration (much of which was both comic and tragic), I realize that those days weren't quite as idyllic as I had imagined.
2. Bryson does a "good" job of scaring the hell out of you by showing just how precarious our daily existence really is. I probably shouldn't say this, but it puts such problems as global climate change into context when you read how an eruption of the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park would wipe out most of the life on earth in a painfully slow manner; especially when Bryson describes how this eruption is overdue by 30, 000 years by historical average.

Combined with those two new impressions, I am left with the following conclusions, and a slightly rearranged outlook on life.

First off, it is clear that science benefits from a large degree of serendipity. We as a species/civilization have been lucky to have some truly great minds working on deciphering the way our world works. Some of these are household names [Newton, Halley, Einstein], some are not [Henry Cavendish, Rosalind Franklin]. However, as with everything that us humans put our hands on, this endeavor wasn't perfect. Egregious mistakes, pathological lying, childlike rivalries and tantrums - they all occurred. On balance, whether they helped or hurt the effort isn't clear. But what is clear is that our present level of understanding was by no means assured.

Secondly, the fact that life is so tenuous makes one a little more philosophical. Since I've finished the chapter about Yellowstone and similar catastrophic threats, I find myself asking "what if today is the day?" It can be rough when you get on the bus at the end of a particularly annoying workday, when the disagreements were petty and you didn't get much done, and think "is that what I did on the last day of my life?"

Thankfully, that attitude only lasted for a short while, until I was able to reframe it in a more productive way. Now I tell myself not to worry about big problems that might happen in the future, because I know that we will be hit by a meteor, we will experience a supervolcano eruption. It's best to just enjoy every day, doing what you really know to be what it is that you want to do. Does that mean that I won't recycle anymore, that I will leave the tap running while I brush my teeth? No! Because doing things to reduce my impact makes me feel good, that I'm thinking about society's needs - not just my own. It's what I want to do.

So, in an incredible way (that even Bill Bryson probably didn't predict) this book can really change your life....less

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Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0767908171)

02/29/08

bookshelves: science, top-shelf

Read in February, 2008

First of all, this book lives up to its title. In this text we explore everything, from the beginning of time up until the beginning of human history, from the infinitely tiny hearts of quarks to the infinitely huge scale of the universe. Biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology, paleontology - whatever your science of choice is, it's in this book. And what's more, it's fun to read.

One of the things that makes Bryson an excellent writer is simply his ability to make you enjoy reading ...more First of all, this book lives up to its title. In this text we explore everything, from the beginning of time up until the beginning of human history, from the infinitely tiny hearts of quarks to the infinitely huge scale of the universe. Biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology, paleontology - whatever your science of choice is, it's in this book. And what's more, it's fun to read.

One of the things that makes Bryson an excellent writer is simply his ability to make you enjoy reading his work. He's most well known for his travel books, such as Notes from a Big Country and A Walk in the Woods, as well as his books on the English language, such as Mother Tongue. When I first read him, he struck me as a more literate version of Dave Barry - a very intelligent guy with a fantastic sense of humor. No matter what he writes, you can't help but enjoy it.

This book, then, must have been a massive challenge for him. He admits right in the beginning that, before he started this book, he pretty much had no idea what he was going to find out. He wasn't a scientist or a naturalist, and had no idea how it was that we knew, for example, that the Earth had an iron core, or how we knew that the universe was expanding or why uranium was so easy to split up. He started from a state of ignorance, and spent three years removing himself from that state.

That, in and of itself, is admirable. There seems to be an unfortunate trend in thinking that science is too hard for the normal person to understand, and in some cases that if it is indeed to hard for the normal person to understand then, why, it must be impossible to understand. Thus the whole Intelligent Designer nonsense and the continuing battles.... in the TWENTY-FIRST GODSDAMNED CENTURY.... over whether or not evolution is the process by which we can explain the fantastic diversity of life on this planet.

If you're like me, and you've been a dabbler in science for a long time, you'll still learn something new. Not the least of what you will learn is what the Greatest Scientific Minds of our Time were like as people. Bryson does his best to bring out the humanity of people like Newton, Lowell, Einstein, Kelvin and everyone else. There's a whole lot of fighting, lying, deceiving and backstabbing that brought us to where we are today, and if they had taught me that in science class when I was a kid, I probably would have gotten better grades.

If you're not a science nerd, you'll still enjoy the book. Remember - up until he wrote it, Bryson was one of you. His style is very readable, and he guides you very deftly from one topic to the next, illustrating a very important point: all science is connected. There is no discrete boundary between, say, chemistry and biology, just a fuzzy blur where we pass from one to the other. The greatest advances in our knowledge of how the universe works have come from the most unlikely places, and sometimes knowing why atoms behave the way they do can help understand why the universe behaves the way it does.

Okay, enough jabbering from me. Get the book....less

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Nick rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

12/10/07

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: Whoever was lost in Sophomore Lab

[For the full text of this review, please check out my blog.]

A Short History of Nearly Everything, a recent release by the prolific travel writer Bill Bryson, is the fruit of three years of research into the cumulative discoveries of the scientific world, with the hope of re-presenting them in layman's terms to the general public. It began, as he tells in the introduction, during a flight over...more [For the full text of this review, please check out my blog.]

A Short History of Nearly Everything, a recent release by the prolific travel writer Bill Bryson, is the fruit of three years of research into the cumulative discoveries of the scientific world, with the hope of re-presenting them in layman's terms to the general public. It began, as he tells in the introduction, during a flight over the Pacific, in which he was staring out the window of the jet down at that vast ocean and realized he knew nothing about it. At that point, he resolved to do something about it, and I rather enjoyed his efforts to remedy his ignorance.

Coming from the pen of a man accustomed to pleasing his readers, the book manages to hold one's attention throughout long periods of academic history in which aristocratic gentlemen in powdery wigs debate with great vigor the suitability of certain botanical categories or the possibility that our noses evolved downward-pointing nostrils to ward off the hordes of contagion that dropped onto our planet from outer space. Scientific history is one long list of characters, some immediately recognizable, and many others whose names were forgotten as I turned the page; some were noble, others shady; some were possessed of a broad mastery of numerous disciplines, and others were content to whittle away at some miniscule corner of the scientific edifice with no apparent concern for what was transpiring around them. All seem driven by some desire for recognition; few seem to have received what they deserve. Each of them stands out in a remarkable way as beloved forebears of a rich and massive heritage.

While the certainties of yesterday are almost always laughable, Bryson manages for the most part not to condescend when surveying the progress of human knowledge--a progress that has been slow and painful since the dawn of the modern scientific method. Consequently, the most consistent reaction this book produced in me was surprise. Of course, the "incomprehensibles" such as astronomical distances, the subatomic particles, the probabilities of life, and the age of the earth and of the universe never fail to impress; yet more than once I found myself swimming in a morass of incoherent hypotheses and data, only to be told by the author that my confusion was not unusual, as the experts themselves really had no idea, either. Apparently, the only thing more astounding than what we know about the universe is what we do not know, and how likely it is that some discovery will come along that will up-end whatever certainties the establishment operates upon. Bryson makes much of the conclusion of the scientific world at the turn of the twentieth century that very little additional investigation was necessary before a complete, airtight account of the universe would be well within its grasp.

Continue reading...

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Abe rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

05/17/07

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 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 rather irreverent tone with respect to these hallowed men and their theories, experiments, etc. makes for an enjoyable journey (the reader feels like a school kid making fun of the master behind his back). It is truly a marvel how, in merely a few sentences, Bryson sums up the lives of the most renowned in the history of all science, and how many of these summations have one’s jaw dropping at the levels of misfortune that befell some of these characters. While enjoyable, this book is, quite frankly, a doom-laden tome. Part of Bryson's success is his ability, via avuncular hardy har har, to impart these soul-searing scenarios of random chance and inevitable obliteration without sounding like a guy on the corner in a white robe with a Repent! The End is Nigh! sign in his hands. Bryson is more like, "Check out this marvelous, mind-blowing factoid about the universe's inception...oh, and hey, by the way, we're doomed." Bryson’s not a bully, but he’s covering a bludgeoning subject. We find ourselves cowed by geologic time: we're such a blip on the screen, a pebble on the celestial highway, that it's hard not to feel utterly inconsequential in the grand scheme. This is particularly true for those of us who harbor delusions of, if not grandeur, than leaving some sort of lasting impression on the world (even if it's merely negative). The random nature of evolution contributes to a feeling of fundamental ennui: the development of life—our species in particular—can be read as such a fluke that it produces a kind of "Jeez, I'm just lucky to be here" immobilizing humility. Ultimately, this book isn't about retention: it's a crash course in the origins and development of our natural world/cosmos. The endeavor in itself is ridiculous, which is one of the charming elements of Bryson's book: If it's hubris that prompts him to tackle this, then it's of a remarkably ingenuous, "hey, why not?" or "I'm just trying to help" variety. The material goes in and out of the reader’s consciousness, page by page, chapter by chapter, and one finds oneself enveloped in wonder and fear by turns. But the totality of the reading experience leaves a residual presence in the head of the reader: she may not know specifics, but she’s been given a glimpse of the known world from the perspective of EVERY discipline in the natural sciences—a remarkable accomplishment on Bryson's part....less

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Ginnie rated it:

(review of isbn 0767908171)

07/29/08

bookshelves: science

"I didn't know what a proton was, or a protein, didn't know a quark from a quasar, didn't know how an atom was put together and couldn't imagine by what means anyone deduced such a thing. Suddenly I had a powerful, uncharacteristic urge to know something about these matters and understand how people figured them out. How does anyone know how much the Earth weighs? How can they know when the universe started and what it was like when it did? How do they know how big it is now? And ...more "I didn't know what a proton was, or a protein, didn't know a quark from a quasar, didn't know how an atom was put together and couldn't imagine by what means anyone deduced such a thing. Suddenly I had a powerful, uncharacteristic urge to know something about these matters and understand how people figured them out. How does anyone know how much the Earth weighs? How can they know when the universe started and what it was like when it did? How do they know how big it is now? And how can scientists be clever enough to know how the continents were arranged six hundred million years ago, and what forces brought them to their present positions, but can't predict an earthquake or tell us whether we should take an umbrella with us to the races next Wednesday?

So I decided that I would devote a portion of my life -- three years, as it turns out -- to reading widely and devotedly and, as necessary, finding saintly, patient experts to answer a lot of outstandingly dumb questions. The idea was to see if it isn't possible to understand and appreciate -- marvel at, enjoy even -- the wonder and accomplishment of science at a level that isn't too technical or demanding, but isn't entirely superficial either.

That was my idea and hope, and that is what the book that follows is intended to be....'
--from the Introduction.

As he states at the outset, this is a book about life, the universe and everything, from the Big Bang to the ascendancy of Homo sapiens. "This is a book about how it happened," the Bryson writes. "In particular how we went from there being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us, and also what happened in between and since." What follows is a brick of a volume summarizing moments both great and curious in the history of science, covering already well-trod territory in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, geology, chemistry, physics and so on. To read Bryson is to travel with a memoirist gifted with wry observation and keen insight that shed new light on things we mistake for commonplace. To accompany the author as he travels with the likes of Charles Darwin on the Beagle, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton is a trip worth taking for most readers.

The librarian in me requires me to mention that there are useful footnotes, as well as chapter notes and a bibliography.

*************************

I have been meaning to read this for a while and seeing a GR friend just posting it reminded me. Thank you Ruth and John.

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Kristin rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

03/08/08

Read in March, 2008

I don't know where to begin with this book... I'm sure Bill Bryson wasn't sure, either! Well, suffice it to say, it's a gem. So many of the facts contained in this book were things I only learned in passing one day in (take your pick) second grade science or in high school biology or college astronomy. Frankly, I had forgotten most of them. And to be more frank, a great many facts I never knew at all.

The review of "science with a smile" is so very appropriate considering all ...more I don't know where to begin with this book... I'm sure Bill Bryson wasn't sure, either! Well, suffice it to say, it's a gem. So many of the facts contained in this book were things I only learned in passing one day in (take your pick) second grade science or in high school biology or college astronomy. Frankly, I had forgotten most of them. And to be more frank, a great many facts I never knew at all.

The review of "science with a smile" is so very appropriate considering all the deliciously fun anecdotes Bryson includes regarding the discoverers of earthy knowledge. It truly personalizes humanity's quest for knowledge--this book is as much about the people discovering "nearly everything" as it is about the everything itself.

For those who have a tendency to overthink things (like myself), the facts in this book can be nothing if not overwhelmingly mind-blowing. When you start to think about the size of atoms, the distances from here to (practically) eternity in the universe, the age of the rocks we walk on, and the number of creatures who have lived and died on this planet...it's enough to make your brain shut down. And I can't help but think about all the people in this world (many in my own extended family--tee hee) who really don't know ANY of this. The universe--heck, just our planet--is incredibly vast and amazing, and this book touches on a lot of it (although, Bryson would himself admit that he just hit the tip of the iceberg). Every student should read this book...and then read it again two years later when he's forgotten all of it.

The book can be scary and disconcerting; I won't lie to you. Bryson is definitely of the belief that we humans are VERY lucky (understatement) to be here. If the wind had blown a different way, we may still be lizards...or something like that. :) I found one part of the book particularly amazing--that many thousands of years ago, humans died out to the point that there were only a few thousand alive on the whole planet. We came that close, my friends, to biting it. I get the feeling that Bryson doesn't see us as any more special than any other creature (we have, after all, 50% the same genetic material as a banana)--just really, really, really lucky to be the ruling species on this planet, or perhaps this universe. And with Earth long overdue for asteroid collisions, massive earthquakes, and ice ages, he doesn't paint a pretty picture for our long-term future.

Nevertheless, if you can put the doom and gloom aside, this book is thought-provoking, important, informative, and pretty fun overall. ...less

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Vijayalaxmi rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

03/24/08

Read in March, 2008

Throughout the book, I kept thinking how much work Bryson must have put into this book…, the amount of reading, cross-referencing, travelling, etc., he must have subjected himself to. All to know the why and how of things. Amazing. His effort was worth each page he must have painfully ploughed through.

It starts with discussing the ‘Big Bang’, weaves its way through the many inventions and discoveries that have changed human life since, and then traces the origin of life, right up to us...more Throughout the book, I kept thinking how much work Bryson must have put into this book…, the amount of reading, cross-referencing, travelling, etc., he must have subjected himself to. All to know the why and how of things. Amazing. His effort was worth each page he must have painfully ploughed through.

It starts with discussing the ‘Big Bang’, weaves its way through the many inventions and discoveries that have changed human life since, and then traces the origin of life, right up to us. Not that it answers every random question you ever thought of (my favourite, when I was a kid, was ‘Are there black flowers?’). And I don’t think it was ever meant to be.

It’s a book that should have been written long ago ideally when I was a kid. So I would read it and realise science has more to it than what my textbooks made it out to be. I didn’t hate science. I quite loved it. But when things started getting slightly complicated, say, by Class X, chemistry seemed intimidating, physics dull, and biology was full of complex diagrams I couldn’t, for the life of me, fathom. I remember my biology teacher saying that half the marks apportioned to diagrams were awarded to the drawing and half to the labeling. I always made sure I got the labeling right. I had to, else how would you know a heart from a large intestine?

Coming back to Bryson, there were some chapters, especially the ones that dwelt on the age of the earth, which did drag. Now, how would it make a difference if the earth is 9,000,000,000,000,000 million years old or if it is 9,000,000,000,000,001 million years old? I would still prefer my chicken curry hot.

I do appreciate his efforts in going behind the scenes and bringing to light very shy scientists, or sometimes even laypersons who were never credited for their insight just because they were laypersons.

The book does remind me of Shivram Karanth’s column for kids in Taranga. You could send in any question on science to Karanthajja and it would be answered in the column. I did send in my black flower question but never saw it answered :(

It also reminds me of similar attempts to popularize science by a Kannada author, whose name eludes me now. If anyone reading this can, then please let me know. He was the son of a famous poet is the other thing I can remember about him....less

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Sammy rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

01/10/08

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 fact that I don'...more 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 fact that I don't think people realize a lot of the things discussed therein.

I read excerpts to my sixth graders, most of whom sigh in response to my enthusiasm, when related topics arise in class, particularly Science and Social Studies (Pompeii is always good for a volcano digression), but I really can't imagine any grown individual of reasonable intellect and range of interests to find this book lacking.

And yes, I'm willing to contend that some aspects may be overlooked, or others perhaps exaggerated, but come on: Bryson never claimed to be a scientist. Science is imperfect itself, so who can really harp on someone who's just trying to put a little spunk into what many consider unreasonably drab or unappealing material? If anything, any hiccups in accuracy catalyze debate and arguments, which, inevitably, elevates scientific discourse. Even our failures lead to progress.

I consider this book to have been somewhat eye-opening with respect to the cursory science education many of us get (save but for scientists, and those pursuing that area of Academia). I mean, take it from me, one who teaches sixth grade science: the curriculum isn't all that exciting at times, and if you only paid attention as much as most of my students, this book goes a lot farther in teaching you where exactly we live, and how unlikely it is that you're reading this right now.

(Those probabilistic assertions being made, I might point you to John Allen Paulos's "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" for a similarly eye-opening treatment of mathematics. At the very least, you'll get to wow your friends by calculating the rate at which human hair grows in miles per hour.)...less

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Aaron rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

07/03/08

Read in July, 2008

Definitely an entertaining book that covers a wide range of topics in science from lionized innovators such as Newton to Einstein to the more obscure eccentric scientist that have equally, but less known by the generally public, contributed to our intellectual understanding of the macro and micro principles of our universe. The book was not dry, boring, or tedious - often the main ingredients of a science book - and will keep the reader engaged. You won't wade through this one.

One thing I to...more Definitely an entertaining book that covers a wide range of topics in science from lionized innovators such as Newton to Einstein to the more obscure eccentric scientist that have equally, but less known by the generally public, contributed to our intellectual understanding of the macro and micro principles of our universe. The book was not dry, boring, or tedious - often the main ingredients of a science book - and will keep the reader engaged. You won't wade through this one.

One thing I took away from the book, besides a better understanding of the world we live in and, ironically, how little we actually know about our world, was that scientists achieved significant breakthroughs by cooperation and division of labor. An individual studying something in a completely different field of work in another continent would often yield results that were beneficial to another scientist elsewhere. Those that hoarded their results often limited innovation in other fields for multiple years (Darwin is a good example of this). The DNA Helix model was design through the use of division of labor, whether intentional or not, and was a significant breakthrough in the twenty-first century. It is well known that science proceeds in pieces, is crossed tested, and the sum of those pieces results in our understanding. Thus sharing information, discussing information, and challenging other peoples ideas in a free society is an important attribute to the continual innovation and accumulation of capital knowledge, which does not exhibit diminishing returns.

Ask yourself, could this be achieved through a central planned system?

This communication and sharing of ideas between scientist is conspicuously parallel to the free market system. In the free market system the pricing mechanism along with myopic self-interest leads to cooperation between consumers and producers. In the scientific community the esteem received by their contemporaries substitutes for the monetary rewards in the free-market systems. Scientific discovery is pushed to it's edge through this system of cooperation driven by self-interest.A central planned system would surely not achieve similar results....less

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Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

09/06/07

bookshelves: non-fiction, popular-science

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: when you'r...more 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: when you're addressing cosmology, earth science, ecology and zoology, with healthy doses of chemistry and physics, plus the historical development of each, you're going to end up with a doorstop of a text, no matter how smoothly written. The wonder of Bryson's writing is that the reader doesn't get lost in these sweeping surveys. When name-dropping, Bryson always gives a short description of the person in question; if mentioned earlier in the book, he drops in a quick reminder to the reader. This is fabulously effective at giving the names some context, not to mention a little personality.

And indeed, isn't that what science education needs most: more humanity and less intimidation? Those science-phobes out there who freely admit their near-complete ignorance of the subject should do themselves a favor and buy a copy of this book. No, don't get it from your library. There's so much here you'll want to have a copy on hand to refer to later.

To those nerds in the audience -- myself included -- don't think your degrees mean you can pass this one over. As hyper-specialized as science has become, it's refreshing as hell to step back and take a look at things with new eyes. While there's not a lot here I haven't encountered before, there's a lot of information about how our current theories were developed that I didn't know.

(Also? It's heartening to read about the social ineptitude, blind spots, and how utterly incompetent many of these scientist were in other aspects of life. Makes me feel better about never finishing that PhD -- at least I have a life.)

Thorough, humorous, engaging, and educational: what's not to like?
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Mary rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

07/08/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Mary by: Erin Pellecchia
recommends it for: Everyone with a brain

I learned several things from this wonderful book. One is that scientists are remarkable people. Whether they are also mean or generous, conceited or humble, selfish or noble, they are all persistent and patient. They will hover for hours, days over almost imperceptible measurements in light pulsations from distant spiral galaxies or the distances between fruit flies' eyes. They are interested in taking such measurements in the first place, and, most important, they realize why the measureme...more I learned several things from this wonderful book. One is that scientists are remarkable people. Whether they are also mean or generous, conceited or humble, selfish or noble, they are all persistent and patient. They will hover for hours, days over almost imperceptible measurements in light pulsations from distant spiral galaxies or the distances between fruit flies' eyes. They are interested in taking such measurements in the first place, and, most important, they realize why the measurements are important. They add to our knowledge for the love of knowledge and disdain for ignorance. Yet they can live with unknowing and doubt. They are not afraid to say, "We don't know," because what they are most interested in is the truth. They resist the very human tendency to mythologize. Most of us can't stand not knowing and will make up an answer rather than live with no answer. Scientists will wait.

Another thing is how indefinite and nebulous science is. Throughout school I was always under the impression that science dealt with facts provable through experiment, and that it was literature that was most open to interpretation. Because there is more we don't know than we do, most of science is open to interpretation, too.

The book is quite Biblical. Much of what it says poetically in Genesis can be found scientifically in this book. The vast majestic wonder of space. The miraculous coming together of chemicals to create life. The irritating tendency of the "highest" form of life to destroy just because it can. In the same decade that Newton and other sublime scientists were raising us out of the dark ages, the dodo bird, a harmless, curious creature, became extinct, killed off by bored sailors just because it was easy to kill. If that's not the story of Adam and Eve in other words, I don't know what is. Of course the Bible is true; it just isn't literally so.

We should be profoundly humble in our ignorance. We should stop proclaiming we know the mind of God. We should appreciate and bless and keep this beautiful earth. We should care for each other, we should sing and dance, and we should keep looking for truth....less

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Rick rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

01/10/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in April, 2007

This work of nonfiction explains the world of contemporary scientific understanding—what we know of everything from the universe to DNA, from earth’s mountains to the ocean’s undersea caverns, and how we came to know it. It exults in the fact that what we know isn’t much and not a little scary—a major meteor could strike the planet at any time (with not enough warning for a Hollywood rescue) and devastate life as we know it (Mr. Dinosaur, meet Mr. Homo Sapien. He’ll be in the extinct...more This work of nonfiction explains the world of contemporary scientific understanding—what we know of everything from the universe to DNA, from earth’s mountains to the ocean’s undersea caverns, and how we came to know it. It exults in the fact that what we know isn’t much and not a little scary—a major meteor could strike the planet at any time (with not enough warning for a Hollywood rescue) and devastate life as we know it (Mr. Dinosaur, meet Mr. Homo Sapien. He’ll be in the extinction exhibit next to you. Be kind, he’s yet in a bit of shock.) Bryson is not just a great synthesizer and stylist; he is a very smart guy. He can explain the complex simply, though there are a too few many of those analogies that go from earth to Pluto and back a hundred times or if all time could fit on a finger nail ours would be the very tip of the very end. Too many of those means that instead of going Wow!, you’re thinking, look I already got that it was a really big distance, unimaginably long time, or inconceivably fast speed. Now you’re just making me think that you think I’m, well, stupid. Still, he knows when to be funny and when to draw a sober conclusion. And he can take issue with what he is hearing. For a long time science-phobe, the reading was both engaging and not at all intimidating. I even appreciated it when in one of the largely physics sections he noted that it was never true that only a handful of scientists understood what Einstein was asserting and the science and math behind it (though he shares the anecdote where one of the few was asked if it were true that he was one of three physicists who understood Einstein’s theory of relativity doesn't respond at first; when prompted he apologized for his silence by saying I’m sorry I was trying to think who the third might be). Later we do reach a point where knowledge starts to overreach normal people’s understanding. You can understand the conclusion, not the how and why of it. The book is a pleasure to read and leaves you more prepared to argue with moronic Creationists who want to replace science with fiction....less

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Khalid rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

06/22/07

bookshelves: already-read

Read in May, 2005

A Short History of Nearly Everything is an amazing history of human understanding of the world in which we live; it describes the evolution of science to its current state, and gives credit to those who helped get our understanding to where it is now. Humorous, yet full of useful information, this book is a masterpiece among general science books.

This book starts from the basics; building on the obvious observations we can all see, and show how humans advance with this information to ...more A Short History of Nearly Everything is an amazing history of human understanding of the world in which we live; it describes the evolution of science to its current state, and gives credit to those who helped get our understanding to where it is now. Humorous, yet full of useful information, this book is a masterpiece among general science books.

This book starts from the basics; building on the obvious observations we can all see, and show how humans advance with this information to deduce more and more elaborate theories about various areas of knowledge. It shows us how most new theories were rejected as radical and later embraced, and how the scientific community wasn't always fair. It goes on until it reaches the current human knowledge in these areas, and shows us how lacking this knowledge is, and how much more we humans need to learn.

In addition to the huge sum of information provided in this book; the author keeps reminding us how lucky (Or, well, unlucky, if you don't like your existence) we are to exist. How many factors had to be just right for us to be here, and how delicate our existence is.

The author made a good deal of effort to get this book done, and he did a good job in my opinion. I doubt he was fully accurate in everything he mentioned, but his effort is appreciated nonetheless. He went and talked to scientists in various fields, visited a lot of relevant places, and read a lot. He produced 400 pages that are well worth everything we study in high school about science, in my opinion; the actual science without the attached gory math.

I recommend this to everybody who likes reading about science. You might find much of the actual information very trivial, depending on your area of expertise, but I believe you'll still learn a lot from this book; if not the science itself then how it evolved, who the people who brought it were really, and – most importantly – how little we know and how much there is for us to discover yet. You just should read it....less

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Grumpus rated it:

(review of isbn 0767908171)

10/28/07

bookshelves: audiblecom, audiobook

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 cover...more

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Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0767908171)

11/07/07

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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Bookshop rated it:

07/29/07

bookshelves: non-fiction

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, from the un...more

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C.S. rated it:

(review of isbn 076790818X)

02/05/08

Read in January, 2008

I really only sat down to read this because of my deep and abiding respect for Bryson as a writer. I read a fair number of science books in a given year-- particularly dealing with cosmology and evolutionary theory, two of the prime subjects of this volume-- and I didn't especially feel the need for a primer.

I should have known better. This book is a primer, yes (it really ought to be a textbook for high school science classes), but more than that, it's a history of science as a branch of ...more

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Jennifer rated it: