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A Short History of Nearly Everything

bill bryson

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This new edition of the acclaimed bestseller is lavishly illustrated to convey, in pictures as in words, Bill Bryson€™s exciting, informative journey into the world of science.In A Short History of Nearly Everything, beloved author Bill Bryson confronts his greatest challenge to understand€”and, if possible, answer€”the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his 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. The result 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. Now, in this handsome new edition, Bill Bryson€™s words are supplemented by full-color artwork that explains in visual terms the concepts and wonder of science, at the same time giving face to the ma

624 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2003
Literary awards
eu descartes prize, the baillie gifford prize for non-fiction, j. a. hollon palkinto, 

This edition

Format
624 pages, Hardcover
Published
November 1, 2005 by Broadway
ISBN
9780767923224
ASIN
0767923227
Language
English

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About the author

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bill bryson

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William McGuire Bryson is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.
In 1995, while in the United Kingdom, Bryson authored Notes from a Small Island, an exploration of Britain. In 2003, he authored A Short History of Nearly Everything. In October 2020, he announced that he had retired from writing books. In 2022, he recorded an audiobook for Audible, The Secret History of Christmas. He has sold over 16 million books worldwide.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
31(31%)
4 stars
37(37%)
3 stars
31(31%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
99 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
-searching-
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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The best thing about this book is that it introduces other books you would like. It showed me that I should probably read more about Newton and Einstein, and that astronomy is something that I am still interested in. I did find myself scanning through certain sections because I already understood them well (the vastness of the universe) or I don't think I will ever understand them (complicated aspects of biology). Like all science book, they get outdated fast but this one is still holding up, at least for now.
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Idontwantto2mal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I was 17.9 years old when I went on a first date with a PhD student, he proceeded to talk on "the effect of turbine blade cooling on jet engines" as we sat enjoying drinks in a lovely British pub. At the end of the evening when he asked me to go out with him again I paused, then decided to give him a second chance. We have been married for a long time now.........Anyway, my point is that Bill Bryson could talk on any subject & make it interesting. I confess I enjoy his books of a more personal nature that involve traveling or adapting to another culture than this one. Still, I was surprised to find myself enjoying learning something about geology and atoms, oh and genes also.
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arisadelle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I loved this book! You don't have to be a scientist to enjoy A Short History of Nearly Everything as part of Bryson's motivation was to make science more accessible to Joe Public, but I have to say that as a scientist this book resonated deeply with me. Bryson delivers the most interesting facts of many of the greatest, and sometimes pretty obscure, men and women in the history of science. Since some scientists can be rather eccentric it makes for some very good stories! It's a remarkably easy read considering the complexity of some of the science and does a wonderful job of showing the evolution of science and the associated politics. This is a must read!!
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PrincesaLuminosa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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What I appreciated most about this book is that it recognizes the lesser-known pioneers of our time. To be more precise, the book in large part, introduces and acknowledges some of the barely known Western scientists (along with the famous ones) that researched, discovered, and in part laid out the foundation for modern astronomy, geology, paleontology, chemistry, physics, biology, but never received the deserved recognition!

The author answers the questions, how and with whom, we arrived at the scientific knowledge we know today, and what those results are. The book very briefly discusses the evolution of the cosmos and our planetary system and in more details the evolution of planet Earth and its living organisms. We also see that the field of science, like in any other field of profession, is full of greed, deceit, and bitterness.

As far as the title and content of the book is concerned, I have my remarks. The book is called A Short History of Nearly Everything and it only covers science and scientists. Not what I expected.

Also, not introducing and discussing, in a history of science book, the Mesopotamian, ancient Egyptians and Greeks, Mesoamerican civilization, the Islamic Golden Age period, and others, deprives the reader from seeing and grasping the whole picture of the chronological development of the study of the physical and natural world.

Lastly, all the short stories revolve around Western European and North American scientists. Which I personally love and appreciate. For example, as far as Asia is concerned, the author dedicated space within the book to inform us that Tokyo could be expecting a devastating earthquake, and the Asian shark finning cruel practice brings in their restaurants up to $100+ per bowl of shark fin soup. But, no mention of Asian scientists, and their achievements.

Therefore, in general the content of the book can be viewed as US-Eurocentric, which in return presents the reader with a short-sighted view of the history of science, all wrapped up in an ambiguous title.

Not to end on a negative note, Bryson is an enjoyable storyteller and the many short stories, along with the science lessons, nicely flow together. Bryson is not a scientist, but he did a fine job.

(3.5/5)
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LilGreasyKid
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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آیا می‌دانستید ۱% برفکی که روی صفحه‌ی تلویزیونتان ظاهر می‌شود، مربوط به نوری است که حدود ۱۴ میلیارد سال پیش در لحظه‌ی مهبانگ (انفجار بزرگ) و آفرینش این جهان تولید شده است و تازه توانسته است راه طولانی مرز کیهان را تا زمین بپیماید و به ما برسد!؟
آیا می‌دانستید اگر آب بر خلاف تمام مایعات بر اثر جامد شدن (یخ زدن) حجمش افزایش نمی‌یافت، احتمالن زندگی بر روی کره‌ی زمین شکل نمی‌گرفت؟
آیا می‌دانستید فضای کیهان پر است از ملکول‌های پیچیده و آلی نظیر اسیدهای آمینه و قندها و مطمئنن سرچشمه‌ی این ملکول‌ها در این همه کهکشان، زمین کوچک ما نیست!
آیا می‌دانستید ما تنها موجودات هوشمند این جهان نیستیم و احتمالن پنج میلیون سیاره‌ی توانمندِ پرورش زندگیِ انسانی در همین کهکشان راه شیریِ خودمان وجود دارد؟
آیا می‌دانستید کیهان (کائنات) حدودن تهی از مادّه است و فاصله‌ی بین اجرام آسمانی خیلی بیشتر از حدّ تصوّر ماست؟ برای مثال قطرِ خود منظومه‌ی شمسی بیش از دو سال نوری (حدود دو تریلیون کیلومتر) است و میانگین فاصله‌ی سیّاره‌های حاوی موجودات هوشمند، حدود دویست سال نوری از هم؛ و احتمالن به همین دلیل است که هنوز ردّی از انسان‌هایی دیگر در کهکشان راه شیری به‌دست نیاورده‌ایم.
آیا می‌دانستید احتمالاً هنوز ۹۷% گیاهان و جانوران کره‌ی زمین را ندیده‌ایم و کشف نکرده‌ایم؟!
آیا می‌دانستید چه بسیار پیش آمده که کشف و اختراع یک دانشمند را نادیده گرفته‌اند و به نام دانشمندی دیگر ثبت کرده‌اند و دنیای حسادت‌ها و دشمنی‌های میان دانشمندان در کنار فداکاری‌ها و از جان گذشتگی‌های آن‌ها چه دگرگونی‌های پیش‌بینی نشده‌ای در تاریخ علم و پیشرفت بشر بر جای گذاشته است؟ اگر مادر مندلیف نبود، علم شیمی به کدام سو می‌رفت؟
آیا می‌دانستید…
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LithiaMysteryX
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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ভালো। প্রথম একশ পেজে আমারে যেভাবে ধরে রাখছিলো, সেভাবে অবশ্য তার পরের দুইশ পেজ ধরে রাখে নাই। তার পরের দুইশ পেজ, জানি না আসলে।
সেভাবে ধরে রাখে নাই - মানে এই না যে একেবারেই ধরে নাই। ব্রাইসন অন্য কাউরে কোট করার চেয়ে ব্রাইসন কথা বলতেছে পড়তে বেশি ভালো লাগে, এই যা।
এইটা ভালো লাগছে যে বইটা কাউরে সাইন্স শেখায় না, শেখাইতে গিয়ে তরল করে ফেলে না, আক্ষরিক অর্থে পপুলারাইজ করে বইটা।
কীসব অদ্ভূত ইনফর্মেশন যোগাঢ় করছে, পুরা দুনিয়া ঘেটে। সেই লাগছে।
অনেকদিন পর আইকার মত একটা বিজ্ঞান ঘেষা বই হাতে লইলাম।
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AshYumHab
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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All I have to say is I'm glad I finally finished this book. It took me forever.

It seems unfair to give it two stars because it is well researched and impressively put together - - but three stars would mean "I liked it", and I really can't say I did. I tolerated it. I appreciated the educational value of it. But liked it? Unfortunately no.

The good news though is that in the progression from physics to biology to anthropology, it became increasingly interesting to me, and you could tell that Bryson also had a better grasp on the subject matter. The anthropology section was interesting enough that it makes me want to read a book on that subject alone. I recall touching upon the development of man in school, but clearly the details were lacking. I had no idea there were so many competing theories.

All in all, for the right reader, I can see why this book is beloved. It delivers on the promise of its title. It just seemed to focus too much on the people involved for my taste and really didn't quite explain the science well enough for me to truly grasp it.

I muscled through.
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Seiiyas
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Sorry, Bill Bryson, I think this may be the MOST boring thing I've ever read in my life. I really loved Walk in the Woods..I loved his witty banter and his engaging, story-telling writing style. I'm not sure WHO, if anyone, would actually enjoy this bland book. I love science and history, but this was just excruciating and mind-numbingly boring and tedious. I ended up skimming most of it. Life is too short for boring books!
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