A Short History of Nearly Everything

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Richard Matthews

One of the world’s most beloved writers and New York Times bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body takes his ultimate journey—into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail—well, most of it. In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as 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.

To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it 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. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.©2003 Bill Bryson (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc. Published by Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing Group, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Not to be missed." (AudioFile)
"Destined to become a modern classic of science writing." (The New York Times Book Review)

A complete breakfast

Forget high school science. Just have your kids enjoy this book. Bryson gives a very understandable and thorough overview of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc., in an extremely engaging way. It is like hearing your favorite college professor sit down on a table in front of a group of students and weaving a fascinating story. The human interest aspects of the books were a plus to the scientific explanations. Although this is a tremendously enjoyable read for inquisitive adults, share it with your children and they might actually take up an enduring interest in science. This book is certainly far better than all of my high school science courses combined (and probably college too). Highly recommended.

A Great Book!

I would describe this as more of a history of Science than of "everything," but that doesn't make it any less interesting. The only parts I found less than awesome were the geology segments, but I'm sure someone who like rocks more than I do wouldn't have a problem with them.

Hearing this book instantly makes you a more interesting dining partner, you will be full of little tidbits of fascinating information. Read it now and find out about the future of Yellowstone Park - that one got me through several dinners and a lunch.

Clever writing in TLC's

Excellent material reads like a (long) episode of The Learning Network's show, Connections. Like James Burke, the author takes pleasure in fact-dropping and illuminating interrelationships of people and facts over the course of world history. Well worth the download. Enjoy!

New User

I received this book two years ago for Xmas. It is a very interesting but somewhat slow, technical read. So far I have found the audio book to be much easier to get through since I'm listening when I'm more alert. Having the ability to back up and listen to a chapter over again has helped me get more out of the book. Having a 35 min (x2) commute I feel like I'm using my time better when listening to a quality read. I'm listening through my new Garmin GPS which is pretty neat; easy-to-learn and use technology.

Great read if you love science

You have to love science to enjoy this book. It touches on a lot of subjects from the Big Bang, geology, biology, dinosaurs, Homo sapiens, ecology, to extinct animals... in a somewhat chronological order peppered with interesting factoids so the subjects aren't dry and dull. This is how students should be introduced to science -- stories of how one thing led to another. It doesn't cover any particular subject thoroughly (hence the title indicating a "short history"). It is an excellent introduction to the different sciences.

Addicting!

This is fun... this book... Can Bryson know this much about so much? Whoa! And... and... if he does.. Well, even if he doesn't... How does he make it all so intriguing? What a wonderful talent. Once I interviewed a towering fiction author about one of his books set in a historical moment. Amazed at the detailed scientific and crafts-worker minutia he'd assembled, I asked him how much research went into the thing. Smiling he said, "What I do is lie! It's why they call it fiction."


And yet, his talent to communicate was so compelling that I bought the entire moment he created and all of its fictional mechanics. I still find that his talent allowed it to bore into my memory and affect certain of my beliefs about science and engineering. It's also left me with a skepticism when confronted with a writer who's apparently mastered so much, then presents it exquisitely.


I know nothing about Bill Bryson other than this exquisite book. Since I have a life, I've no interest to fact check. I hope... I'm somehow trusting that this guy's really an authority who's now made me more knowledgable about nearly everything. Hated to stop this book. Richard Mathews makes Bryson as accessible as Bryson's writing makes, well, nearly everything.

Is science really that funny?

I've never read a book by Bill Bryson, but I have spent a lot of time studying science. This surprising intersectection of the two is interesting, informative and incredibly funny. The prose is good and the reader is superb, delivering dryly humous lines with the exact emphasis they deserve. I'm laughing a lot and learning some too.

An important and satisfying book!

I am grateful to Bryson for his exhaustive, carefully edited and very readable History of Everything. His non-linear approach to our physical world and it's known history is fascinating, full of humor and great human stories, and somehow keeps us riveted until the end. I recommend this book to everyone. It connects many dots, suggests infinitely more hope and human growth, and finally, creates a bridge between the physically real and the spiritually guessed at, in our perception of who and what we are on lively planet earth.

very comprehensive and a good listen...

A lot of information about science, discoveries and history...It's one of those things I go back to and give another listen and have even bought the book so I can pull out specific facts for speeches.

I feel smarter just listening to this book.

This book is great. It breaks down everything from the beginning of the universe to present day technology in a very easy to understand narrative. The reader is awesome and the book rocks.