A+

Bill Bryson is a travel writer par excellence. He's transported us to such widely separated locales as Britain, Australia, Africa, and the Appalachian Mountains. And his laid back, humorous style is always a pleasure to read.

In A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING, Bill expands his horizons to ... well, nearly everything, from the Universe to the atoms that make it up. In between, he chats about the potential for catastrophic volcanic eruptions and meteor strikes, Einstein's theories, cellular biology, the evolution of life on Earth and Man in particular, the Periodic Table of the Elements, glaciation, quantum mechanics, the currents and depths of the world's oceans, continental drift, subatomic particles, the Big Bang Theory, the Earth's layers and core, the development of Chemistry and Geology, the fossil record, the atmosphere, mass extinctions, DNA, and so much more.

In the Introduction, Bryson admits that he didn't know much about the planet he lives on. So, he spent three years researching and interviewing so he could tell us all about it. What has resulted is a thoroughly enjoyable work of popular science that provides food for thought and imagination. And the stuff that party trivia questions are made of. Did you know that perhaps 10% of a 6-year old pillow's weight is made up of "sloughed skin, living mites, dead mites, and mite dung"? Or that there are six feet of DNA squeezed into every cell of your body - about twenty million kilometers worth? Or that the Human Genome Project suggests that there are about 35,000 to 40,000 human genes - roughly the same number found in grass? Or that the element Francium is so rare that there may only be twenty atoms of it on the entire Earth at any one time? Or that Madame Curie's notebooks are still so radioactive that they're stored in a lead box?

What I find amazing is that the author managed to learn so much about a whole lot in so short a time. I mean, he includes thirty-eight pages of Notes and a ten-page Bibliography. I'm reminded of the high school term papers I struggled through, albeit less grandiose in scope and accomplishment.

Bill, you get an A+ on this one. Go to the head of the class.

Armchair Traveler Develops Genius of Rocket-Scientist!

When I picked up "A Short History of Nearly Everything" I had abosolutely no idea what to expect. As a travel junkie who can rarely afford to travel myself, I grab Bill Bryson's books whenever I can with great enthusiasm. His keen wit in presenting characters and scenes is unparalleled, and in this new romp (in which he narrates a journey through not just a county but through the scientific world as well as space and time) he is in top form.

Bryson's everyman prose makes the mysteries of scientific thought interesting, understandable, and funny. The book begins with the building blocks of the universe and works its way slowly down through the smaller mysteries such as life on earth and why human beings even exist. However, the science of the work does not become overwhelming to the lay-reader and Bryson maintains an admirable sense of wonder and joy throughout.

And, of course, the text is delightfully littered with anecdotes about the men and women who have dedicated themselves to discovering and defining these mysteries. Both living and dead, these men and women take on life that leaps off the pages, making them feel like old friends. And from the comfort of your favorite reading spot, you feel like you could be sharing a pint with them and Bill in a cozy pub somewhere.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a inclination for pondering the large questions of life but who is equally interested in keeping his or her sense of humor and sanity in tact.

Rediscover what you learned in school and forgot

This book is aimed at people who either know very little about science, or who studied it in school and then forgot it all (my case). I read some of the reviews here and was shocked at how people criticize Bryson, especially saying he got scientific terms mixed up or had errors in his book. He is not a scientist and in my opinion that makes this book that much more impressive! Bryson devoted years of his life to learn this material, and to think we can take it all in by reading a book.. well it just doesn't seem fair! I was sad when I reached the end of the book, I wanted it to continue. I learned so much from this book, and it's interesting how many times the subject material in this book comes up in every day conversations.

Bryson approaches history from two angles: Astronomy and what we know about the universe, and Evolution and what we know about life on Earth. I learned so many things I didn't know. Fascinating facts such as that meteorites are used to date the earth with carbon dating (they're the same age). Meteorites contain proteins needed to build life. Human like species have been on Earth for 1 million years. After finishing this book, I find myself thinking about topics like these during my free time. That's how impressive this book is. If you love science, this won't be a book you just read and forget. It's a book that will teach you things you'll be thinking about for a long time.

Honestly I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're interested in science, it is a must read.

Michael