A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
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Book Reviews of A Short History of Nearly Everything
Book Review: My Bible!
Summary: 5 Stars
In this book, Bill Bryson brought organization and purpose to my own disjointed thoughts on religion and spirituality. This may sound odd for a book on science, but his "average man view" of science (and side trips about the often imperfect people who generated much of our modern knowledge base) strikes a cord with those of us who are not scientists. I have recommended the book to several people who have been delighted and fascinated as I. Stephen Hawkings I don't not understand, but Bill Bryson - when he writes about the same subject matter - I do. For example, from Bryson I learn the Evolutionists and Creationists are basically in disagreement over the first 10 seconds of existence. I also had an "Ah-Ha" moment in reading about evolutionary dead-ends about the possible explanation for homosexuality (it's evolutionary! - I'm not gay but I have family & friends I love who are). Not only do you get understanding on subjects most of us have not read about since we were in the classroom, but you get Bryson's dry wit thrown in - a real bonus. This book is destined to be a classic (I'm currently on my second reading). I highly recommend this book as a basic volume in anyone's library who is a modern thinker.Book Review: Awesomely entertaining and informative
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is just downright entertaining, as well as dreadfully frightening. When you get to the parts about the fragility of the Earth's life-sustaining environment, the apparent inevitability of a catastrophic asteroid collision, or the imminent threat of a super-volcano eruption in a place like Yellowstone National Park, you may wonder if there is anywhere on Earth to safely relocate your family. But Bryson's dry humor and gift for finding and articulating irony had me chuckling out loud every time I sat down to read a chapter or two. He puts a very human (sometimes deflatingly human) face on the amazing advances of the scientific enterprise. The book is also very dense with "history class" type factual information (names, dates, places) that, while flowingly presented in the captivating narrative of a storytelling, are still difficult details to recall just a few hours after reading. Overall, this is a great read, and highly recommended to anyone who ever wished - even secretly - that they understood more about the physical universe, or especially for anyone who wonders about the legitimacy of science as a process for revealing truths.Book Review: Another Bryson Book Worth Reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Having read a few of Bryson's books, he has become on of my favorites to read. He is pretty special in my book, with a perfect blend of research, life experience and a great sense of humor.
Of course when I saw the title "A Short History of Nearly Everything" I thought I knew what to expect in line with his other books, and looked forward to it because I thought it would cover a little bit of some subjects that I knew (or knew nothing about), and it worked out to be that and more.
There is alot of information contained in this book, more than I expected, and he is able to clearly get across his ideas about a wide range of subjects. Obviously there is a bit of humor in the book, as the title suggests, and I would suspect that based on the amount of information contained in the book (and that Bryson is not an expert in the fields) that it is not what would be called a definative statement on any of the subjects, but there is more than enough to "get your feet wet" and you can always pursue more formal material in those matters.
Very worthwhile and fun.
Book Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Summary: 5 Stars
This is popular science writing at its eloquent best. Bryson's style is engaging and at times elicits the image of a public lecture in a serene, comfortable place, where no one is restless and the speaker's well-modulated, intelligent voice holds our attention with his carefully chosen, vivid language. Readers in a rush will not like it. It is a book without pictures, the sentences are sometimes long, and the style is literary, neither crisply marching forward from fact to fact nor descending into wordy, dull-witted, imaginary scenarios that clutter some popular science books and which, contrary to such authors' intent, neither enlighten, explain, nor entertain.
You're not going to finish the book with the illusion you now know science, or at least you shouldn't. What you're going to discover, if you didn't already know it, is that science is not dull and that you'd probably enjoy learning more. This book is a good place to begin if you haven't already started, especially if you've somehow gotten the idea that popular science is written by people who cannot write.
Book Review: A wonderful book by a hysterically funny writer
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything for the third time, and once again, I am enjoying it immensely. While I was never a big fan of science in school, Bryson makes it interesting, even fascinating, to learn about the driest of material. He digs for the true story behind each discovery, including interesting facts and theories about each one, and character details and eccentricities about each of the scientists he mentions. And he does this in layman's terms, so I can learn about the history of the universe without a dictionary to translate the scientific mumbo jumbo...Bryson does that for me.
Do I actually remember everything I read? No. (hence reading it for the third time) But every time I do read it, I am struck again how much I enjoy Bryson's witty prose and unmistakable voice, just as I have enjoyed his many other books.
For actual scientists, this may not be the book for you, but if you're just interested in learning more about why we're on this planet from a purely curious standpoint, I highly recommend this book.