History of Science, sure, but that certainly is not all by any means. It is the history of the remarkable men and women who contributed to a knowledge about ourselves, our planet and our place in time and space. It is a story about some of the greatest minds, their thinking, treachery, genius and stupidity. Never does the book seem like a lecture though at nearly every turn there is something to learn and fairly easily understand. The subjects are serious though Bryson's wit and humor should keep everyone smiling and chuckling all the way through. The content is great; the narration superb.

I listen to this book for a few minutes as a natural soporific. It should be titled "A Short History of the People Who Invented Science", as opposed to "A Short History of The Concepts Involved in Science."

I cant say enough about this book! I was introduced to Bill Bryson while incarcerated. And might I just say that even hardened criminals could not get enough of this book. I made most of my money by renting out this book. The demand was so great that I had another copy mailed to me. I have since lent a copy to many friends, and have yet to have most of them returned. The only one which was returned was because that person bought their own copy so that they could highlight it. This book is infectious! My only regret is that I havent been able to aquire an illustrated version. This book does indeed feel like a short history of nearly everthing. But everyone I have ever ask about this book says that it only makes them want to know more about one or more of the topics in the book. That has been the case with me as well. I have gone back to school in order to learn more about the subject matter within the pages of this life altering book. Read this book, it will open new worlds and inlighten old ones

Although this book is more aptly titled "A brief history of scientific discoveries and anecdotes about the people who made them", it is in any case an amazing scope for any book. Expertly organized and amusingly written (and narrated), it covers a wide range of topics at a high level. Its no science book but you will learn something, maybe not in great technical detail, but at a very human and very understandable level. Some of it is tedious (like taxonomy and geology) but some of it is downright hilarious.

A great book to go over the vast history of science. I would have named it the short history of nearly everything scientific, because no time is given to history of any other sort than science. I very much enjoyed the book, and learned much.