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.
I'm a Bill Bryson fan but this is my favorite of his as I'm interested in almost all things science. I appreciate the fact that he takes very difficult topics and makes them accessible and interesting. His metaphors are very easy to picture and very illuminating. I also like the fact that he is careful to note that not all "facts" are in fact, facts - he makes sure he at least mentions opposing arguments or states that there's controversy over specific figures, theories, dates, etc.
I'd recommend this book to just about anyone interested in science or the history of science. I'd go so far as to say that vast portions of it would make excellent teaching resources.
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