• A Short History of Nearly Everything

  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: William Roberts
  • Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,182 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: William Roberts
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Editorial reviews

In his latest release, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson compounds the story of human existence, or rather what is known of it so far, into one incredible audiobook expertly narrated by American voice performer William Roberts. Be entertained by even the most complex of discoveries, all broken down in a way that makes them understandable and enlightening. Covering innumerable topics of human achievements, you will be tremendously inspired by the significance these discoveries have had on life as we know it today. Available now from Audible.

Publisher's summary

A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
©2003 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"To read Bryson is to travel with a memoirist gifted with wry observation and keen insight that shed new light on things we mistake for commonplace. To accompany the author as he travels with the likes of Charles Darwin on the Beagle, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton is a trip worth taking." (Publishers Weekly)
"Stylish [and] stunningly accurate prose....Brims with strange and amazing facts...destined to become a modern classic of science writing." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about A Short History of Nearly Everything

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • dj
  • 02-08-05

Torn on this one...

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.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superbly whimsical

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.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Long and Fun.

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.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A

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!!!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A short history of nearly everything

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.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding.....

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".

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Thorough, and thoroughly enjoyable

I found the abridged version fascinating, and enjoyed the unabridged version even more, even though it is quite a marathon. The narrator does tend to be a bit dry, but not unbearably so.

I found it extremely fair and did great justice to the Creation vs Evolution debate, and covers and explains a vast array of human knowledge in a few hours.

My own conclusion is that the universe was created, AND it evolved, much in the same way as light is both a particle AND a wave. To insist on one or the other is simply bad science. Bill Bryson's book is well written and well read, and I'm glad I bought it.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Z
  • 08-10-05

My favourite audio book so far

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.

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5 people found this helpful

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

Bill Bryson as always is excellent

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Although I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure that I got the unabridged version. It was supposed to be 19 hours and I only got 6 hours. What did I miss?

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Short History of Nearly Everything

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!

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2 people found this helpful