A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bryson took three years to research the book by conducting interviews and reading lots of history and it comes through in the text. You almost feel like you were in the room with Bill, following prominent scientists around, asking newbie questions. Bryson comes off as genuinely enthralled by the subjects at hand and you learn new things along with him. The narrative reminds me a great deal of James Burke's books and Connections TV series. Bryson not only tells the tales of how things came to be, but he's constantly weaving a link between all the various stories and pulling similar themes out.

It's a fantastic book and reminds me why I was so enamored by science in school. It also drives the point home many times that we are very, very lucky to be standing here, doing what we do everyday. The chances that the universe came together to enable it are insanely slim for all sorts of reasons as you will quickly find out.


Perhaps the Best Armchair Scientist Book I've Ever Read   May 28, 2003
Eric P. Neff (Collegeville, PA United States)
112 out of 119 found this review helpful

I picked this one up expecting "good". Instead, I got one of the most delightful reading experiences in science that I have ever had. What a wonderful surprise.

Bryson tries to do what most school textbooks never manage to do, explain the context of science in a way that is relevant to the average person. At the beginning of the book, he recalls an event from his childhood when he looked at a school text and saw a cross-section of our planet. He was transfixed by it, but noticed that the book just dryly presented the facts ("This is the core." "This part is molten rock." "This is the crust.", etc.), but never really explained HOW science came to know this particular set of facts. That, he quite correctly points out, is the most interesting part. And that is story he sets out to tell in this book.

Bryson obviously spent a great deal of time and effort developing and checking his facts and presentation. He obviously enjoyed every minute of it too, and it shows. Never have I read a book where the author conveyed such joyful awe of what we have learned as a species (with the possible exception of some of Richard Feynman's books).

My benchmark for this kind of book is usually; How well does it explain modern physics? There are few books out there that manage to explain relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory in a way that doesn't make your eyes glaze over. The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav is the best of the lot in my opinion. While this book did not change my opinion, Bryson's explanations of these mind-bending theories are not only lucid and sensible, they are also full of his telltale tongue-in-cheek side comments and therefore are just plain fun to read. However, Bryson goes way beyond Zukav, focusing not only on physics, but on the full panoply of scientific disciplines. He also focuses more on the discoverers themselves, and the process of discovery.

One of the things I like about this book is that Bryson again and again makes sure credit is given where credit it due. For many discoveries, he tells us the "official" story, but also tells us the often untold story of the small-time scientist who got the idea first but, for whatever reason, never got credit. This happens a great deal in science, and Bryson appears to be on a quest to set the record straight when he can. The result is not only charming storytelling, it's got a certain justice that just feels good.

I didn't have huge expectations for this book, but I am delighted to report that it is one of the best of its kind. Hurrah to Bryson for writing it, and hurrah to me for stumbling on it.


All that stuff we were supposed to have learned, but ...   May 11, 2003
David C. Hay (Houston, Texas, USA)
72 out of 77 found this review helpful

I am a big fan of Bill Bryson's travelogues. I was therefore surprised when I cam across this, somewhat more weighty, tome. But I am pleased that I picked it up.

The author says he didn't do very well in science when he was in school because the teachers and texts seemed to be hiding all the good stuff. Now, as an adult, he's gone after the good stuff. And he's the guy to write it so the rest of us can understand. Not only does he write clearly, but he's very good at explaining as much as a normal person can understand (of relativity, for example), while pointing to the stuff that's weird, and setting aside the stuff that you have to be a specialist to understand.

He also is very good at giving credit to people who thought of things but were ignored until someone else came along and took credit. This has happened all too frequently, and it's good for the record to be set straight.

If you too were afraid of science, this is a wonderful book. If you already know a lot of this but just like to read enjoyable writing--it's also a wonderful book.


Classic Bryson at his best   May 21, 2003
Peggy Vincent (Oakland, CA)
63 out of 76 found this review helpful

It's hard to imagine Bill Bryson topping A Walk in the Woods, and perhaps he hasn't - but with A Short History of Nearly Everything, he comes damn close. Undaunted at the prospect of taking on everything in the universe as a topic, Bryson pretty much succeeds in taking us on a journey through his quirky mind with his own insatiable curiosity as a tour guide who both asks and answers questions the rest of us probably never thought to pose.
If you like Bryson, this is a must read. If you've never read him before, well, you'll quickly become a regular reader such as myself, eagerly awaiting each of his books as they come off the press.


Bill Bryson Hits The Target   June 11, 2003
W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA)
46 out of 52 found this review helpful

Bill Bryson's "Short History" was aimed at people like me, I believe; a humanities major who found the sciences an alien universe, incomprehensible to those who hadn't mastered its formulas and jargon. His three years of reading, research and interviewing has resulted in an accessible, educational, entertaining book that tries to answer some of the most fundamental questions, such as where did the universe come from? and what makes humans human? Bryson was interested not only in what the answers to the questions are, but how we found those answers, and who the people were who unlocked these mysteries.
I suspect that those who are well versed in the sciences might find this a bit superficial (after all, the entire story of the universe is a lot to pack into less than 500 pages), but if you're looking to fill in some gaps in your knowledge of our world, this book is for you. Take the journey with Bryson; you'll enjoy the trip.