A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition Summary and Reviews

A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition
by Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition
Our Price: $114.15
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $64.85 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Bill Bryson
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-11-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 624
Publisher: Broadway

Book Reviews of A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition

Book Review: Not quite everything, but enough...
Summary: 5 Stars

I was first acquainted with Bill Bryson through his works on the English language and various travelogue types of books. In these books he proved to be an entertaining writer, witty and interesting, with just the right amount of I'm-not-taking-myself-too-seriously attitude to make for genuinely pleasurable reading. Other books of his, 'Notes from a Small Island' and 'The Mother Tongue', are ones I return to again and again. His latest book, one of the longer ones (I was surprised, as most Bryson books rarely exceed 300 pages, and this one weighs in well past 500), is one likely to join those ranks.

Of course, a history of everything, even a SHORT history of NEARLY everything, has got to be fairly long. Bryson begins, logically enough, at the beginning, or at least the beginning as best science can determine. Bryson weaves the story of science together with a gentle description of the science involved - he looks not only at the earliest constructs of the universe (such as the background radiation) but also at those who discover the constructs (such as Penzias and Wilson).

A great example of the way Bryson weaves the history of science into the description of science, in a sense showing the way the world changes as our perceptions of how it exists change, is his description of the formulation, rejection, and final acceptance of the Pangaea theory. He looks at figures such as Wegener (the German meteorologist - 'weatherman', as Bryson describes him) who pushed forward the theory in the face of daunting scientific rejection that the continents did indeed move, and that similarities in flora and fauna, as well as rock formations and other geological and geographical aspects, can be traced back to a unified continent. Bryson with gentle humour discusses the attitudes of scientists, as they shifted not quite as slowly as the continents, towards accepting this theory, making gentle jabs along the way (Einstein even wrote a foreword to a book that was rather scathing toward the idea of plate tectonics - brilliance is no guarantee against being absolutely wrong).

Bryson traces the development of the universe and the world from the earliest universe to the formation of the planet, to the growing diversity of life forms to development of human beings and human society. Inspired by Natural History (the short history refers more to natural history than anything else), this traces the path to us and possible futures. Bryson juxtaposes the creation of the Principia by Isaac Newton with the extinction of the dodo bird - stating that the word contained divinity and felony in the nature of humanity, the same species that can rise to the heights of understanding in the universe can also, for no apparent reason, cause the extinction of hapless and harmless fellow creatures on earth. Are humans, in Bryson's words, 'inherently bad news for other living things'? He recounts many of the truly staggering follies of species-hunting, particularly in the nineteenth century, calling upon people to take far more care of the planet with which we have been entrusted, either through design or fate.

Bryson's take on things is innovative and his narrative is interesting, but there is a point to it, just as there is with most of his writing. He writes not merely to entertain, or to inform, but to persuade. Bryson is intrigued by science, having a joy that comes across the page of someone who essentially did not know or understand a lot of the background of science and how it worked in the world until recently, and now wants to share that joy with everyone! He definitely has points to argue - for starters, the need for open-mindedness, even among (perhaps particularly among) those who are supposed to have the open and searching intellects, the scientists themselves. He also wishes others to know more about science, professionals and laypersons, and more about our own origins as a people, both in terms of where we've come from, and how we've come to know about it.

This is a new version of his already-published text, this time with graphics, paintings, pictures, maps and other things that make the history come alive in new and interesting ways. This is a good revision, adding quite a bit to Bryson's already interesting text. Unique among Bryson's writing in many ways, this is in some ways a travelogue through geology, paleontology, cosmology and evolution. A fun and fascinating read!

Science Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Learning and Reference
How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle ImageHow to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle
by Charles Long
Warwick House Publishing; Published: 1996-07-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $14.95
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series ImagePlanet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
WARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $18.99
Price in other shops: $79.98
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4 ImageThe Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-01-22; DVD
Best price: $50.99
Price in other shops: $79.98
A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition ImageA Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2005-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $79.19
Universe ImageUniverse
by Robert Dinwiddie, Philip Eales, David Hughes, Ian Nicholson, Ian Ridpath, Giles Sparrow, Pam Spence, Carole Stott, Kevin Tildsley, Martin Rees
DK ADULT; Published: 2005-10-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.74
Price in other shops: $50.00
Earth ImageEarth
by DK Publishing
DK ADULT; Published: 2003-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.40
Price in other shops: $50.00
Animal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed (American Museum of Natural History) ImageAnimal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed (American Museum of Natural History)
DK ADULT; Published: 2008-09-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.99
Price in other shops: $50.00
Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife ImageAnimal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife
by David Burnie
DK ADULT; Published: 2005-09-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.14
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Human Body Book (Book & DVD) ImageThe Human Body Book (Book & DVD)
by Steve Parker
DK ADULT; Published: 2007-04-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops: $40.00
Human (Dk Smithsonian Institution) ImageHuman (Dk Smithsonian Institution)
by Robert Winston
DK ADULT; Published: 2004-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.45
Price in other shops: $50.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Bill Bryson's African Diary ImageBill Bryson's African Diary
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2002-12-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.40
Price in other shops: $12.00
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies ImageGuns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2005-07-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.69
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir ImageThe Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2006-10-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.48
Price in other shops: $25.00
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) ImageA Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)
by Bill Bryson
Liberty Mountain; Broadway; Published: 1999-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops: $15.99
In a Sunburned Country ImageIn a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2001-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Mother Tongue ImageThe Mother Tongue
by Bill Bryson
Harper Perennial; Published: 1991-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $14.99
Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives) ImageShakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives)
by Bill Bryson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.37
Price in other shops: $13.95
A Briefer History of Time ImageA Briefer History of Time
by Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow
Bantam; Published: 2008-05-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.52
Price in other shops: $22.00
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right ImageBryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2004-09-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.30
Price in other shops: $12.95
A Short History of Nearly Everything ImageA Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
Broadway; Published: 2004-09-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.68
Price in other shops: $16.95