If you thought science was boring...think again

Bryson brings humor and personality to a subject that many people would ordinarily avoid out of fear of boredom - science history.

I read some of the other reviews that said Bryson was woefully misinformed about a lot of things. I don't know if that's true or not because I'm not a scientist. But certainly a lot of what Bryson talks about IS verifiable. I think reading the book and nitpicking a small error here or there is the wrong way to judge this book.

I can say this: On just about every page of this book I find myself saying "Wow." Bryson has a talent for relating fairly obscure ideas into concepts that everyone can understand. Like, for example, telling us that the blue whale's tongue weighs as much as an elephant and it's heart is the size of a car.

Some topics are more entertaining than others. The chapters on Oceanogrpahy were funny at times and very entertaining. Although, by neccesity, Bryson sometimes needs to go very deeply into a subject (like explaining how atoms behave), he still manages to keep the subject matter from getting too far over the head of anyone. At times, after a long passage of technical jargon he even confesses that HE is over HIS OWN head with some of the material, and moves on.

I have learned a ton of things about science from this book. Bryson's at his best when he's talking about the wacky scientists of today and yesterday - many of whom were clearly a little crazy, but also responsible for fascinating discoveries. You'll gain some new insight into Einstein and Newton, as well as lots of other very important scientists most people have never heard of.

In short, this book is great. I wouldn't worry about a potential minor error here or there. Nobody's perfect and unless you work for NASA or are a biology professor or a scientist yourself, it's unlikely that you're going to know the difference anyhow. You don't read this because you want to know that the information is 100% accurate beyond any shadow of doubt...you read it because it's fascinating and very entertaining along the way.

This Is Bill Bryson??

This was dreadful. After reading some of Bryson's earlier books, I assumed that this would be a good read, as well. Midway through the first chapter, I was asleep, presumably because it had nearly bored me to death and I had to go into a life-saving stasis to prevent any further brain damage.

well written

this book is a pleasent book to read, with an excellent flow throuhgout the chapters. much more excitiong to read then the very boring written school textbooks. i recomend this book for people that enjoy asking questions about life and have a child on the way and need to answer some of those questions that they keep asking..why...but why daddy....and so on...