“If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.”
This is a sort of rough guide to science told in the form of a history of the universe, a history of earth and a history of life. Bryson covers the history of science: the theories, debates and speculations about all that he covers from the beginning of the universe onwards. There is a caveat or two. It was written over twenty years ago so it is bound to be out of date and there is so much in here that there are bound to be a few errors. There’s lots about atomic particles and a great deal about life and how it developed.
It's an interesting read and is laced with Bryson’s trademark humour:
“There are three stages in scientific discovery. First, people deny that it is true, then they deny that it is important; finally they credit the wrong person.”
“In France, a chemist named Pilatre de Rozier tested the flammability of hydrogen by gulping a mouthful and blowing across an open flame, proving at a stroke that hydrogen is indeed explosively combustible and that eyebrows are not necessarily a permanent feature of one's face.”
There are also lots of interesting anecdotes as well. It’s informative without being over complex, but you do have to get on with Bryson’s breezy style.

The knocks on Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything essentially come from two camps; those who are well versed in science and feel this treatment lacks any substantial depth or detail, and those whose interest in science is so nominal that they feel put upon by the overwhelming and substantial depth and detail. Such is the lot of authors who set out to bring complex disciplines to wider audiences (*see also Astrophysics For People In a Hurry). Speaking only for myself, this was right in my wheelhouse.

I now know a bit more about paleontology, geology, chemistry, astronomy and particle physics than I knew a few days ago, and I'm more than satisfied with the attention & treatment Bryson gives to my science of choice, physical anthropology. Light reading this is not, but you don't need a PhD to comprehend what Bill B is laying down, just a curious mind and a comfortable chair.

El libro, como su título indica, da un repaso a un montón de temas como la cosmología, la física, la química, geología, paleontología, zoología, etc y etc... pero todo de una forma muy amena, fácil de entender, y sobre todo muy interesante.

Muerta me he quedado con la descripción de los miles de peligros que nos rodean, y que si estamos aquí hoy en día en este planeta es por puñetera casualidad u_u