[−]
  • Search Digit-count Valid ISBN Invalid ISBN Valid Barcode Invalid Barcode
Share Organize Explore

has ALL you need!

A community for book lovers to create their own bookshelves, share and explore books.

Sign Up for FREE!
Blog this item

A Short History of Nearly Everything

By Bill Bryson

(193)

| Paperback | 9780552151740

Book Description

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 CountContinue

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.


From the Hardcover edition.

26 Reviews

  • 4 people find this helpful

    Incredibly fascinating! Bill Bryson's NON serious style analyzes very serious (and sometimes misterious) science facts making them truly enjoyable for anyone with very little to none science education.
    The only minor thing for those who have some passion for science is that the book flows so si ... (continue)

    Incredibly fascinating! Bill Bryson's NON serious style analyzes very serious (and sometimes misterious) science facts making them truly enjoyable for anyone with very little to none science education.
    The only minor thing for those who have some passion for science is that the book flows so simply and swiftly (with Brison's hunor) that after having read it you are left with a sense of understanding of everything he wrote, but very, very little memory of precise facts and figures to cite to impress or surprise your friends! ;-)

    Is this helpful?

    ― NickBert said on Aug 2, 2007 | Add your feedback

  • 3 people find this helpful

    Anche se ha barato: in alcuni capitoli il testo si ripete con semplice copiaincolla. Però chiaro, illuminante e avvincente.

    Is this helpful?

    ― Ombra said on Nov 10, 2007 | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    Divertente testo di divulgazione scientifica. La scrittura di Bryson è sempre frizzante, mai noiosa e con angoli di attacco di pochi gradi. Forse talvolta troppa aneddotica scientifica, qualche mancanza qua&là, ma pur sempre gradevole.

    Is this helpful?

    ― Giax said on Feb 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • Call me a snob but a science book by a travel writer? Every 5 minutes I mumbled to myself: I'll have to check the reference. I never really did because the prose is so engrossing that I didn't want to break the flow. But I simply couldn't completely trust Bill Bryson.

    The other day I was reading ... (continue)

    Call me a snob but a science book by a travel writer? Every 5 minutes I mumbled to myself: I'll have to check the reference. I never really did because the prose is so engrossing that I didn't want to break the flow. But I simply couldn't completely trust Bill Bryson.

    The other day I was reading the chapter about the evolution of Homo sapiens. Bryson said that the diversity of the human genome is so small that an average community of chimps has larger genetic variation than the entire human race. I was like, really? So I turned to the back and found a reference to a report (not a research paper) in Nature. Impressive. I didn't expect that from a travel writer.

    Is this helpful?

    ― pyridine said on Nov 9, 2009 about the Audio Cassette edition | Add your feedback

  • Loved it. Full of fun little facts I hope to be able to remember. Some parts of it didn't really land with me, but then Bryson always keeps it interesting by inserting anecdotes about the scientists.
    My only regret is that I didn't buy the illustrated version.

    Is this helpful?

    ― Jolanda said on Oct 22, 2009 | Add your feedback

Book Details

  • Rating:
    (193)
    • 4 stars
    • 3 stars
    • 2 stars
    • 1 star
  • English Books
  • Paperback 688 Pages
  • Edition: Export Ed
  • ISBN-10: 0552151742
  • ISBN-13: 9780552151740
  • Publisher: Black Swan
  • Pub date: Jun 01, 2004
  • Also available as: Hardcover, Audio CD, Audio Cassette and Others
  • In other languages:
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'Eine kurze Geschichte von fast allem'</span>
      Eine kurze Geschichte von fast allem
      (Deutsche Bücher)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'Una breve historia de casi todo'</span>
      Una breve historia de casi todo
      (Libros en Español)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'Breve História de Quase Tudo'</span>
      Breve História de Quase Tudo
      (Livros em Português)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'Breve storia di (quasi) tutto'</span>
      Breve storia di (quasi) tutto
      (Libri Italiani)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'En kort historie om næsten alt'</span>
      En kort historie om næsten alt
      (Danske bøger)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'Een kleine geschiedenis van bijna alles'</span>
      Een kleine geschiedenis van bijna alles
      (Nederlandse Boeken)
    • <span class='translatable' lang='Cover of '{[title]}''>Cover of 'En kortfattad historik över nästan allting'</span>
      En kortfattad historik över nästan allting
      (Svenska böcker)
Improve data of this book

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780552151740 Paperback £7.99 £7.99 Amazon UK
$14.11 -- Amazon CA
¥2069.00 ¥1861.00 Amazon JP
€13.6 -- Amazon FR
€12.8 €10.47 Amazon DE
Other editions →
+ 9 copies tradable: 1 in USA →
Added to Shelf Added to Wish List

Inline Translation Mode

Left click to navigate, right click to translate.

inline translation guide

or close

Inline translation is not ready for this page yet.

Inline translation mode.

Share this page with your friends.

The viewport has not loaded.

This is a preview for another version of this book.