A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.97 You Save: $9.02 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.10 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of A Short History of Nearly Everything
Book Review: Makes me wish they taught science better in high school
Summary: 5 Stars
One reviewer mentioned that Bill Bryson occasionally gets the facts wrong, and he definitely admits that he didn't know anything about science before researching this book, but this is one of the most entertaining science books since Stephen Jay Gould died. Any book that makes me want to hunt down a 1950s study of moss deserves five stars.
At times the layman tone gets irritating, such as when he constantly explains 10 to the base of 35 as a really really big number. At other points he's trying to give the most grave scenario possible and you feel like you're reading Faces of Death presented by The Discovery Channel. These include meteors killing everyone within a 150 mile radius (with a good "we can't detect them" thrown in for good measure), stories of plague and the fact that the Yellowstone National Park is one big volcano (which certainly gave me visions of the thing blowing up at once.) He also tends to make rookie comparisons (like comparing cell structure to the Indy 500)
However, the book is not meant as a scientific text for scientists but a book for adults that know very little about science. Sadly, high schools and colleges tend to teach science badly - first boring students to death with very simple notions and then losing them in the complicated parts and emphasizing categories over theories. Scientific writers have flourished because of this lack of wonder in the traditional science classes.
Bill Bryson manages to incorporate discussion of almost every scientific discipline and find something interesting. Whether this involves fights between scientists, religious controveries or doomsday scenarios Bryson manages to convey the scientific knowledge in a way that's compelling (even if a trifle tabloid inspired). It's definitely one of the most entertaining books on science and whets the appetite for more.
Now excuse me as I add How to Know the Mosses & Liverworts by Henry S. Conrad on my wishlist.
Book Review: OK - I am a Bill Bryson fan, but still...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a number of Bill Bryson's books and have enjoyed them very much. I read "A Walk in the Woods" and laughed out loud on a long plane ride. I read "In a Sunburnt Country", too. One thing I like about Bill Bryson's writings is that he does research. His books are not just funny stories about far off lands. I was amazed at all the different subjects in this book. I even went out and purchased some of the books referenced in the footnotes.
Now, I have read other reviews that say that this book is not very comprehensive. True, very true. There was a lot of detail and people left out. But, if you are looking for something comprehensive on all the sciences and the history of these sciences, I think that you are fooling yourself. It just can't be put into one book. In my humble opinion, this book was a good introduction to a lot of the sciences and how they came into being. I goes into depth here and there. And, it provides notes and references if you want to pursue the subjects on your own.
This was a big book. But, I wish it had been longer. I was disappointed when the book was drawling to a close. (How many miles did you travel for this one, Bill?)
I also recommend Bill's very short book about Africa immediately after reading this book. You will find them somewhat related.
I also recommend the book "A Sense of Place" where Bill Bryson is interviewed. You get a little peek into Bill's life of being torn between America and England.
I am thinking of buying the illustrated version of this book, even thought it looked like a text book. I am not sure whether or not the photos and illustrations would help the written word or not. There is something to be said about using your imagination while reading a book - even if it is about real subjects and the sciences.
p.s. - I think my favorite part of this book was the meteor crater found in Manson, Iowa.
Book Review: The best book I have ever read
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a voracious reader all my life, and an amateur lover of science to boot. I picked up this book not really knowing what to expect, but was hoping for a smart person's guide to science. What I got was the single best book I have ever read. Filled with charming anecdotes and incredibly helpful expositions of otherwise maddeningly complex topics, I've read it 8 times now and it just doesn't stop being wonderful. I took the book on vacation with my mom when we traveled through Europe together, and found myself interrupting her reading every half hour or so with snippets of wonderfully told stories that I couldn't even finish telling before erupting into giggles and needing to take a breath and wipe away the tears in order to complete the paragraph.
If this book had come out when I was in middle school instead of when I was in law school, I am positive I would have been a scientist instead of an attorney. This is the kind of book I had hoped to find all my life - engaging, intelligently written, chock full of impressively articulated complexities and the kind of book that fosters a true appreciation (even admiration) for the world around you.
He breaks the book into discrete units, discussing everything from the history of taxonomy and the evolution of the taxonomic system, to the geological movement of the continents and different theories associated with it, to the most pressing and complex problems in particle physics. It is the ultimate smart person's guide to science - painstakingly researched and engagingly, hysterically funny. Give this book to precocious youngsters and you will change their lives. It's not so complex that normal people won't understand and enjoy it, but not so easy that people with a background in science won't learn something new.
Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't regret it.
Book Review: Simply Amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
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 to talk about early scientists and discoverers and how they determined the age of the Earth, the orbit of planets, and discovering various elements, among many other things. The next few chapters deal with some important scientists and their contributions as well as providing funny and sometimes strange stories about the scientists, some will make you laugh while others may even shock you. My favorite part of the book deals with the many chapters dealing with the origin of life on Earth and how modern living things came to be. Bryson details the theory of evolution in a clear and easily understood way.
Bryson presents all the material in a very objective way, including some areas that are up for debate; he presents the facts and figures as he is given instead of trying to sway your view to one side of the argument.
I can not praise this book enough, I think it will appeal to just about any audience. The book is mostly science oriented but is still largely open to those without any real background in the material being covered as Bryson explains things as if you have no prior knowledge of the subject at hand; despite the elementary approach to the topics, those with a firm background in science will no doubt learn many new and exciting things throughout the book.
Highly recommended!
Book Review: Welcome to the world!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know what is more baffling - that we know so little about the world, or that we know so much. Bill Bryson starts his short story of nearly everything with the remark, that "To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you. Its an arrangement so specialized and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exsit this once. Why atoms takle this trouble is a bit of a puzzle. Being you is not that gratifying at the atomic level."
Some might call such remarks trivial, I find them thought provoking - and so the books go on - a crash course in science, immensely enjoyable and filled with thoughts that makes you wonder. Surely, it is popular science - but noone, including scientists, are experts in all fields of scientific inquiry - so I am sure the book will broaden horizons everywhere - even though it is only a short story about everything...
I certainly don't agree with the reviewers who thinks the book is only for dummies - no, it is for the curious and intelligent non-expert, in short, all of us! And I certainly don't agree that >>"All too often we get the beginning of an explanation that trails off into a "and anyways it's all very complicated but it's it just fascinating" sort of gee-whiz summary. One suspect that we've just reached the point where Bryson has either lost the thread of understanding or perhaps just decided that he doesn't care to understand something any further."<<
No, if you want to know more about a particular scientific subject feel free to learn more about it in other books - 600 pages on everything will only go that far - obviously!
An Excellent read!
-Simon