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.

After listening to both abridged and unabridged versions, I would recommend them both. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

A must listen for any science lover, no matter how much you think you know. The author gives personal tidbits about icons of science, as well as pointing out how much we don't know. The Narrator Richard Matthews is a joy to listen to as well.