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A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780767908184 |
Only 1 left in stock at $11.50!
Powells.com Staff Pick
This learned and amusing work covers the origin of the universe to the human genome. A welcome journey with Bryson in typical wise and witty fashion.
Recommended by Ann
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
One of the world's most beloved and bestselling writers 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 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.
Review:
"Bryson...achieve[s] exactly what he'd set out to do, and, moreover, [he does] it in stylish, efficient, colloquial and stunningly accurate prose....[S]eems destined to become a modern classic of science writing." Ed Regis, The New York Times
Review:
"Bryson has made a career writing hilarious travelogues, and in many ways his latest is more of the same, except that this time Bryson hikes through the world of science." People
Review:
"Hefty, highly researched and eminently readable." Simon Winchester, The Globe and Mail
Review:
"All non-scientists (and probably many specialized scientists, too) can learn a great deal from his lucid and amiable explanations." National Post
Review:
"One of the most engaging general-interest science books around. Think of it as a kind of a handy manual to the cosmos....Mr. Bryson believes that much of what humankind has learned can be conveyed to the average reader with humor and clarity." Dallas Morning News
Review:
"To those acquainted with the popular-science writing Bryson has digested, his repackaging is a trip down memory lane, but to his fellow science-phobes, Bryson's tour has the same eye-opening quality to wonder and amazement as his wildly popular travelogues." Booklist
Review:
"[T]o read Bryson is to travel with a memoirist gifted with wry observation and keen insight that shed new light on things we mistake for commonplace....[A] trip worth taking..." Publishers Weekly
Review:
"Loads of good explaining, with reminders, time and again, of how much remains unknown, neatly putting the death of science into perspective." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"I can't vouch for the accuracy of the content, but written the way it is, it undeniably makes learning fun....I can't imagine what Mr. Bryson will tackle next....But I look forward to his future undertaking with unabashed eagerness." BookReporter
Review:
"With his keen and wonderfully humorous perspective, Bryson has written the best kind of travelogue...in which each stop on the itinerary is fascinating because he settles in and stays awhile, unearthing the stories and myths of the local denizens." Philadelphia Inquirer
Review:
"Bryson is surprisingly precise, brilliantly eccentric and nicely eloquent...a gifted storyteller has dared to retell the world's biggest story." Seattle Times
Review:
"Bill Bryson gives you science that's both serious and fun in this detailed and enjoyable book....Bryson's challenge here was...to make us understand and appreciate how profound, frightening or just plain interesting our world is, and he's done a wonderful job." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review:
"A 545-page doorstop that is neither a hilarious travelogue or a witty book about language, both trademarks of the author. Rather, it's a swift tour of the sciences and an ambitious one at that....Bryson is a master of his craft." Chicago Sun-Times
Review:
"Bill Bryson's latest tome...delivers exactly what the title suggests....Readers familiar with Bryson's wry sense of humor and casual writing style will find plenty here; he makes science interesting and funny." Boston Globe
Review:
"A Short History of Nearly Everything is everything a book should be — informative, engaging, well styled, rewarding both for the information it provides and the art that shapes it." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Synopsis:
In this book, bestsellling author Bill Bryson confronts his greatest challenge: to understand--and, if possible, answer--the oldest, biggest questions posed about the universe, everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. High school & older.
About the Author
Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In A Sunburned Country, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, Bill Bryson's African Diary, and A Short History of Nearly Everything. He lives in Norfolk, England, with his wife and children.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction 1
Pt. I Lost in the Cosmos 7
1 How to Build a Universe 9
2 Welcome to the Solar System 19
3 The Reverend Evans's Universe 29
Pt. II The Size of the Earth 41
4 The Measure of Things 43
5 The Stone-Breakers 63
6 Science Red in Tooth and Claw 79
7 Elemental Matters 97
Pt. III A New Age Dawns 113
8 Einstein's Universe 115
9 The Mighty Atom 133
10 Getting the Lead Out 149
11 Muster Mark's Quarks 161
12 The Earth Moves 173
Pt. IV Dangerous Planet 187
13 Bang! 189
14 The Fire Below 207
15 Dangerous Beauty 224
Pt. V Life Itself 237
16 Lonely Planet 239
17 Into the Troposphere 255
18 The Bounding Main 270
19 The Rise of Life 287
20 Small World 302
21 Life Goes On 321
22 Good-bye to All That 335
23 The Richness of Being 350
24 Cells 371
25 Darwin's Singular Notion 381
26 The Stuff of Life 397
Pt. VI The Road to Us 417
27 Ice Time 419
28 The Mysterious Biped 434
29 The Restless Ape 453
30 Good-bye 469
Notes 479
Bibliography 517
Index 529
Introduction 1
Pt. I Lost in the Cosmos 7
1 How to Build a Universe 9
2 Welcome to the Solar System 19
3 The Reverend Evans's Universe 29
Pt. II The Size of the Earth 41
4 The Measure of Things 43
5 The Stone-Breakers 63
6 Science Red in Tooth and Claw 79
7 Elemental Matters 97
Pt. III A New Age Dawns 113
8 Einstein's Universe 115
9 The Mighty Atom 133
10 Getting the Lead Out 149
11 Muster Mark's Quarks 161
12 The Earth Moves 173
Pt. IV Dangerous Planet 187
13 Bang! 189
14 The Fire Below 207
15 Dangerous Beauty 224
Pt. V Life Itself 237
16 Lonely Planet 239
17 Into the Troposphere 255
18 The Bounding Main 270
19 The Rise of Life 287
20 Small World 302
21 Life Goes On 321
22 Good-bye to All That 335
23 The Richness of Being 350
24 Cells 371
25 Darwin's Singular Notion 381
26 The Stuff of Life 397
Pt. VI The Road to Us 417
27 Ice Time 419
28 The Mysterious Biped 434
29 The Restless Ape 453
30 Good-bye 469
Notes 479
Bibliography 517
Index 529
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
-
NickVanD, May 28, 2008 (view all comments by NickVanD)
I am reading Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. When you open the book to the first page the first thing that is made clear to you is the fact that A Short History of Nearly Everything is a book about science that was written by someone who knew, before writing it very little about science. This means that the book is very easily understood by people who struggle with more conventional science books.
Another interesting feature of the book is that it seems to shift from topic to topic very flawlessly. I am awed by Bryson’s ability to transition from topic to topic flawlessly. Another feature of this book is it’s focus on not just the science of things but the people involved with the discoveries.
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annagrayscott, July 30, 2007 (view all comments by annagrayscott)
I've enjoyed all of Bryson's books, but this one is my favorite. It's a fun, easy read as he educates and informs, yet remains warmly engaging. I recommend it.
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Sarah, July 19, 2007 (view all comments by Sarah)
This book is an extremely enjoyable read, even for those who have no interest in science. Especially fascinating are the little details about the scientists themselves
View all 3 comments
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780767908184
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Broadway Books
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- Trivia
- Subject:
- History
- Subject:
- Questions & Answers
- Copyright:
- 2004
- Edition Number:
- Reprint ed.
- Publication Date:
- September 2004
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 544
- Dimensions:
- 9.34x6.14x1.19 in. 1.25 lbs.
