A Short History of Nearly Everything

A superbly whimsical miscellany of knowledge. The narrator matches the style of Bill Bryson impeccably. The range of subjects covered is wide, and the treatment of each is first class. If every child starting high school listened to this before choosing subjects, there would be a far greater enrolment in the sciences. Whether you're a kid of 9 or 90, you will find this fascinating. I cannot resist a minor quibble - the wealth of Johannesburg was not based on diamonds, but gold. The South African city founded on diamonds is Kimberly, whence the term Kimberlite, the volcanic rock that frequently yields diamonds. That aside, what a great book.

This is indeed one of the best books I have had the good fortune to read and also one of the best narrations from all of my Audible purchases.

All Audible customers should consider purchasing this book, whether or not you are history fans. The book is captivating, once you start listening you will not be able to stop -

be prepared to have your life disrupted!!!

If youre interested in science in general this is a great book.
The price for over 15 hrs is a great buy.
Imposible to listen in one sesion.
Buy it, dont be chicken.

Very interestingly written and captures / sustains your attention much of the time. On occasion the digrassions can be a little distracting but, these are rare occurances. It provides historical context to the development of the subject matter and is very enlightening on the many personalities whose individual efforts contributed to the whole.

Every human being should listen to this book. Not only will it make you appreciate just how far we have come as a species, and how lucky we are to be here (so many other species failed to survive). It will also make you realise that there is so far we have yet to go and just how wrong we can be, and occasionally, right.

An amazing insight into "the only planet you will ever know".

I will first admit that I really like Bill Bryson and own all of his books - even "Palace Under the Alps". With that in mind, it won't be a surpise when I tell you "A Short History" is something pretty magical - it's helped to open my eyes to much in the world around me.

So why am I torn? Normally I detest Abridged books - I like books I can get deeply involved in and enjoy over a period of time. However, as with his other books, Bryson himself reads only the Abridged version of "A Short History" - and if you haven't heard him read his own material - well you really should. His droll, dry wit is best delivered by his own tounge.

So, my solution was to acquire both versions of "A Short History" and I've enjoyed both - but I leave the Bryson read Abridged version in my car and listen to it from time to time - I don't see myself doing the same with the Unabridged version.

What a great introduction to science. Bryson's great skill is to make a complicated subject enjoyable and easy to understand. Some of the most memorable moments in the book come from the stories of the various scientests detailed. A great read (listen!)

This is my favourite audio book from audible so far. At first the narrator was slightly irritating, he sounds like the kind of "crazy professor" types they get to host pop science shows for kids, but after a while he grew on me, and in the end I think it was very well narrated.

The actual content is far too wide ranging to cover specifically in a short review. But it follows a coherent path about all those little tidbits of the history of our planet, our species and our universe, that everyone should know, but most of us never bothered to investigate.

Even though this is probably one of the longest audio books on this site, you'll still be wanting more when it's over. If you're interested in the general topics I mentioned, and just want a nice, "for the average person with an interest in science" presentation of this material, you'll thoroughly enjoy this audio book.

It rarely strays into the extremely technical or detailed, but still conveys the main thrust of the ideas. I highly rate this book, the writing is good, and there were times I laughed out loud, at the authors humour which kind of sneaks up on you.

A great listen and read well by William Roberts. Every chapter was packed full of amazing facts that made me just want to listen on. There were very few dull moments and the highlights more than easily out-weighed these. So much of the book has interested me and made me want to learn more on the many subjects covered in the book. You don't necessarily need any prior knowledge on the subjects and is spoken on a intermidiate level. The unabridged version is great, only I wish it went on for longer! I am anticipating another listen later this year - it's that good.

This is a well researched and entertaining story. Bryson has an absolute knack for turning the boring into the interesting. It is clear that his interest and passion for this enormous subject grew during the construction of the book. Its a different Bill Bryson and I like it. BUT I am not a fan of the reader. OK I'm from Australia but I enjoy a lot of american reads. This one is very difficult to put up with for long stretches. It needs to be read with a fun lively attitude. Sadly this one did not. I have the printed book too which I love to pick up and read. If you can stand the reader, get the audio book!