A Short History of Nearly Everything

Summary:

In Bryson's 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. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

Everything about this book was fantastic.  It was a perfect mix of histories from around the world that kept me engaged despite being dense content.  I wish I had read this book in high school as I think I would have been much more enthusiastic about many of the required topics for standardized testing with a little more background.  Bryson has a clear sense of wonder and enchantment that comes through the pages and sweeps the reader away with him.

I have since read some commentaries that point out that Bryson has made a few scientific mistakes, which is fine because it’s easily forgotten in the highly entertaining story-telling about the obscurities of history.  Some of the greatest scientists in the history were also ridiculous in their mannerisms and interactions with other scientists.  I wouldn’t say this book should replace textbooks, however I couldn’t stop talking about it while reading it and highly recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? Honestly believe anyone would enjoy it!