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| A Short History of Nearly Everything | 
 enlarge | Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy Used: £0.30
You Save: £9.69 (97%)
New (36) Collectible (4) from £4.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  212 reviews
Sales Rank: 317
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 686
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.5
ISBN: 0552997048
Dewey Decimal Number: 600
EAN: 9780552997041
ASIN: 0552997048
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Little River Books dispatch daily from South Wales. Customer satisfaction is our guarantee.
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| Customer Reviews:
 How to learn very little about quite a lot August 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."
A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.
The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.
One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.
A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.
 Everyone should read this August 20, 2008
This is a great book that everyone should read, Bill Bryon has written this brilliantly with some amusing sections. It really shows the reader why science is so interesting and how various people (with intriguing characters) in history have worked towards some great discoveries including some of those who missed out on grabbing the credit for it.
I really enjoyed reading this.. if only science was taught like this when I was at school!
Compelling July 4, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've just borrowed this book from my local library on cassette, and can't bear to let it go back without owning it! Bryson's usual humorous, articulate style of writing has won me over yet again. Some might call it "dumbing down", I think it's no crime to have such a wonderful talent for explaining the unimaginable, and Bryson makes all that science stuff accessible and understandable (no mean feat where my arty brain is concerned!)
Once again Amazon's amazing price means that I can add a true classic to my ever growing audio cd collection. Thank you Amazon!
Good... June 24, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
...and moves along at a good pace keeping the readers attention. However ditch this and read Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" first, it's the daddy and still timeless.
A few points May 22, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
This isn't really a proper review of the book as there are loads already on Amazon, but just a few points that struck me:
a) Why does Bryson use kilometres as opposed to miles? American and English readers know miles and they're presumably the near exclusive readership? It's really annoying constantly having to recalcuate when he says things like 'the earth's core is 600 kilometres from the surface'.
b) I'm aware that there is an edition of this book with sketches and diagrams, and boy does it need them. This edition badly misses them - they're pretty much essential for what he talks about.
c) There's a little too much about the scientists rather than what they discovered. This is typical Bryson - he loves to relate details of eccentric people, but here I found myself wishing he'd concentrate on the science eg how cells and organisms clustered together to create life, rather than a professor who rode everywhere on his bike naked etc.
d) By the end I still didn't feel I really knew how we'd got here. This probably isn't Bryson's fault as there's so much we don't know, but maybe more of what I say in c) would have helped?
e) This is worth reading if you have a vague interest in science. If you're religious you'll probably want to look away because the reality will be far too much for you to take.
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