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A Short History of Nearly Everything

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Bill Bryson puts his writing skills to science this time, written from the layman's point of view. The book covers a wide range of scientific topics, from the Big Bang to genetics, in an organized and informative manner. Bryson injects humor and historical context into complex subjects, making it an entertaining and educational read about the history of science and our understanding of the universe.

The book serves as a fantastic review of scientific milestones, blending well-known and lesser-known facts with humor and poignant reflections on humanity's impact on the planet. It presents a comprehensive overview of natural sciences, leaving readers in awe of the wonders of the universe and emphasizing the importance of scientific knowledge and responsibility.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is engaging and informal, filled with humor and personal anecdotes that make complex scientific concepts accessible.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot offers a sweeping overview of scientific history, examining key discoveries and the individuals behind them, from cosmic origins to human evolution.

Setting:

The setting encompasses the entire universe and spans from cosmic beginnings to the historical development of scientific understanding.

Pacing:

The pacing is fast, providing a wealth of information in a concise format, though it varies between detailed explorations and quicker overviews of concepts.
A proton is an infinitesimal part of an atom, which is itself of course an insubstantial thing. Protons are so small that a little dib of ink like the dot on thisi can hold something in the region of ...

Notes:

The universe began with a singularity during the Big Bang, expanding from nothing to everything within a fraction of a second.
All elements in the universe were created in stars, and every atom in your body has likely passed through several stars before becoming part of you.
The Earth has a core that is incredibly hot, yet only a small percentage of the planet's temperature is actually known to us.
It took humans millions of years to evolve from single-celled organisms to complex beings, showcasing the improbability of our existence.
There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the world's beaches combined, highlighting the vastness of space.
The first known mass extinctions on Earth were caused by asteroids and climate change, which remind us of our planet's fragility.
Many famous scientists faced ridicule and opposition from their peers, demonstrating the often contentious nature of scientific discovery.
Yellowstone National Park sits atop a supervolcano that could potentially erupt and cause widespread devastation, showcasing the dangers of living on a geologically active planet.
A significant portion of the Earth's atmosphere is made up of the same elements that were present at the beginning of time, hinting at the stability of these ancient components.
Darwin's theory of natural selection was not the only idea of evolution; other scientists had similar theories but Darwin's gained prominence.

From The Publisher:

In A Short History of Nearly Everything, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body, confronts his greatest challenge yet: to understand-and, if possible, answer-the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. The result is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it.

Ratings (70)

Incredible (25)
Loved It (25)
Liked It (15)
It Was OK (4)
Did Not Like (1)

Reader Stats (151):

Read It (74)
Currently Reading (2)
Want To Read (61)
Did Not Finish (1)
Not Interested (13)

5 comment(s)

Did Not Like
2 days

Didn't finish. Supposed to be a well written "Science for Dummies".

 
Incredible
5 months

Fast-paced, great storytelling, genuinely fun facts I didn't know, well researched, light-hearted, page turner, humorous style, great breadth, facts and stories have great segues and weave together which makes you want to "find out what's in the next chapter" instead of get bored leafing through standalone popular facts

 
Incredible
8 months

Fantastic review of all things scientific, basically covering what scientists know about our world and Universe for the non-scientist reader.

 
It Was OK
9 months

This book to forever to get through. Do not take it on lightly. That being said I did learn a few new things about the planet 🌏

 
It Was OK
9 months

This is probably Bryson's most popular and best known book, although in my opinion not his best. I have read four of his books this year and I definitely like [b:In a Sunburned Country|24|In a Sunburned Country|Bill Bryson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176242l/24._SY75_.jpg|2611786] the most. Probably because its subject is the most interesting for me.

And here probably begins my basic problem with this book and the reason why it was hard for me to read it. I'm totally not interested in astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics. But of course, it's not the book or its author's fault, and I knew more or less what this book was about from the beginning. Despite this, I have stuck quite many times in the first chapters about the formation of the Earth and only one of the reading challenges forced me to finish it. Fortunately, the later chapters are more interesting to me.

Still, I feel like this book is not as brilliant as some other Bryson books. Of course, as in others, there are a lot of interesting facts here, but the whole book is generally not written in this light, humorous tone that I know from other Bryson's works. A pity, because maybe then it would be easier for me to read it. That's why, and not because I didn't like the subject, I think it's not the best of Bryson's books.

Bryson usually can draw my attention to the topics that I'm not interested in at all. But somehow not this time. There are large fragments here that I just ran through, waiting for something more interesting. And sometimes I had to wait a long time. Of course, there are also fragments that I read with real amazement and which I liked very much. But it seems to me as if there were less of them than in the other books of this author.

I absolutely do not regret reading this book, which more than about the history of almost everything, is about the history of research on the Earth, its origin and life in general and in detail. And that's very good, because this aspect - the history of conducting research - is the most interesting in my opinion.

In general, I recommend this book to all who are interested in this topic. And to those who would like to broaden their knowledge in a rather humorous way.

 

About the Author:

BILL BRYSON's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and A Short History of Nearly Everything (which won the Aventis Prize in Britain and the Descartes Prize, the European Union's highest literary award). He was…

 
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