• A Short History of Nearly Everything

  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: Richard Matthews
  • Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (27,568 ratings)

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A Short History of Nearly Everything  By  cover art

A Short History of Nearly Everything

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Richard Matthews
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Editorial reviews

"Imagine if you can -- and of course you can't..." is how Bryson opens his explanation of how a universe is born. And he has the uncanny ability to not say too much, nor too little; to use metaphors brilliantly but without cliché; and to sound like he's actually learning as he goes along. Like Stephen Hawking before him, Bryson skips from one BIG topic to the next with the curiosity of a child and the patience of a schoolteacher. It's like having a front-row seat to the history of the world.

With his slightly bemused English accent, narrator Richard Matthews sounds completely at home in the material, chatting knowingly and with perfect dry comic timing. For managing to cover the universe and keep it lively, this experience definitely merits as an all-time favorite.

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.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

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

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What listeners say about A Short History of Nearly Everything

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

so interesting and expansive

this tells the history of how we have come to know what we know. Which is really a very important thing to know but also very interesting because it puts the human story to it. it makes all the facts of the scientific world so much more interesting when we see what people went through and what it took to figure those things out and also what those facts are based on.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonder

If you love well researched factoids on a wealth of topics, this is a book for you. Certainly not a dry “simply the facts, ma’am “ but a fun and eye opening telling of many things you didn’t even know you were interested in learning about! Great narration by a top notch audio reader with a killer British accent that keeps you listening.

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Very interesting, well written

Muy interesante, repleto de datos curiosos y anécdotas imparables de los hechos más relevantes de todos los tiempos y de los hombres que los descubrieron

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not everything but a ton of science

Great book and even better performance. Well written and thorough research. Too much science for my taste.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bill Bryson's great work.

I love anything Bill Bryson writes. I learned a great deal and was entertained.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Focuses too much on petty drama between scientists

Book starts out strong enough, although being that this book is almost 20 years old some of the science on astronomy is a bit outdated.

However, as time goes on the style of the book gets irritating as he focuses much more on the petty quarrels between different scientists and paleontologists then talking about the actual science. A funny anecdote her and there about the people who made the breakthroughs is great, but when it becomes the main topic, it feels a bit tedious. I could only get about 1/3 of the way through.

Overall its a bit outdated and written in a strange style, i'd probably pass unless you are interested in learning more about the day to day dramas of some of these famous but obscure scientists.

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Listen to this book!

One of the best books ever written on the subject of Science. Incredibly in depth while also accessible even if you go in with very little knowledge of the subject. Entertaining, clever, so well written, jam packed with fun facts to amuse your friends and dazzle your coworkers.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Did not need to be nearly this long

The same information could’ve been done in half the time. No need for the many many words with so many syllables!
And I am in a profession where I am used to big long words.
Otherwise, interesting.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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incredible

Loved this masterful telling of, well, Everything! Narration was spectacular as well. well done!

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my favorite book of everything

For simple-minded man like myself idea of settling acceptance of life as it is sounds comfortable. But now I know " will not see the heaven the one who doesn't know it" there is some truth to this. Fantastic work, love it.

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