A Short History of Nearly Everything

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Richard Matthews

Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the world’s most beloved and best-selling writers takes his ultimate journey - into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.

In a Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail - well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand - and, if possible, answer - the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as 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.

To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it 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. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.

©2003 Bill Bryson (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc. Published by Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing Group, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Not to be missed." (AudioFile)
"Destined to become a modern classic of science writing." (The New York Times Book Review)

Fascinating Science for non-scientists

If they had taught science like this in school, I think I may have sought out a career as a scientist instead like most people I learned to fear science. Brison does a wonderful job of introducing complicated topics in an orderly sequential manner that seems to make sense. He makes complex topics very interesting, and the reader Richard Matthews is just plain great. I have listened to this book twice already, it's easily one of my favorite books.

Work of Art

Bryson weaves history and science into a story with the elegance and wit of some of the best fictional authors I have ever read. He puts large and complex concepts into an easy to follow and easy to comprehend template which he transplants to, as the title says, "Nearly Everything", which never leaves the reader lacking interest. I consider this a crowning achievement and should be recommended to anyone with an interest in science, history, or just plain old learning new things.

This is a MUST read!

Buy it... simply one of the best science hisory books I have read.

Just Good Stuff

The author can make very entertaining stuff out of the seemingly non grandiose. He's done that repeatedly in (what I'm able to recall of) his non fiction books. In this one, he takes a big bite of "...Nearly Everything", thoughtfully chews on it and and cleverly reports how it tastes. This report, read out loud, with exquisite pacing and wit, by Richard Mathews, actually becomes more entertaining when listened to a 2nd or 3rd time...when one picks up the bits and nuances they've missed during earlier readings. The book seems seriously factual and intellectually sound. But, contrary to the usual lack of humor most often found in such writings, this book is a hoot. It is slyly witty and darkly humorous. The narrator is superb in bringing out these qualities. And by doing so, this reading does a great job in helping one gain a bit of honest perspective of one's actual place in our universe, I believe. Very enjoyable.

A Work of Art on Science - A Classic

A rare perfect fit between writing style and narration. A world-traveled body of journalism. A good popularizing first book on the history and the topics of science, and, just as importantly (maybe more) the human stories behind them.

Excellent, excellent

Wonderful book. Hated for it to be over. Highly recommended for anyone that wants to learn more about this fascinating world.

Well explained and well read

Entertaining snapshot of who, what, and when life began and where we fit into the picture.

good book

the book was interesting and I will have to read it again. thank you sire

Exquisitely Entertaining

I don't usually read (or listen to) non-fiction, but I'm sure glad I made an exception in this case. "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is exactly that -- a short history of nearly everything from the "big bang" to present-day humans! Entertaining, witty (sometimes laugh-out-loud funny), informative, and immensely interesting -- I can't remember the last time 18 hours went by so quickly.

Bill Bryson has managed to not only put into layman's terms such esoteric topics as quantive mechanics, relativity, subatomic particles, paleontology, marine biology, to name a few, but to do it with a wonderful and delightfully dry sense of humor (I suppose I should spell it humour). Richard Matthews' reading further enhances Bryson's words, adding to the awe and wonder of the world we inhabit.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who has ever wondered about the universe, who has a little bit of knowledge and wants to learn more. It is also for everyone who is a trivia buff, and for everyone who wants to become one.

Having finished listening to the book just yesterday, I started from the beginning again just this morning. I'll let you know what new things I learn from the second go-round.

A history of scientific progress

This book provided a nice history of the sciences that have brought us to the current day. It was enlightening and informative and written in a witty and easy to read style.

I enjoyed it, but I would only recommend it to someone who has an interest in reading about the sciences. It doesn't teach much on any particular topic, rather it gives a summary of the science, it's history, and current state.