Customer Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST EVERYTHING
Comment: It's a tough call trying to squeeze earth's history into approximately 450 pages, but Bill Bryson has done it. With his trademark gentle humour and a focus on making even the most complex subjects (such as the nature dark matter and our evolution from chimp to Homo sapien) easy to grasp, Bryson has created a thoroughly readable and more importantly, enjoyable, book.
I am no science whiz, and I will freely admit that there were certain topics that confused me or just didn't hold my attention (for example, I'm not particularly interested in the nature of clouds). Yet despite this, there was so much that I learnt from this book.
This really is a fascinating read, so if you're interested in learning a little more about this amazing planet we call home, `A Short History of Nearly Everything' will keep you captivated for hours.
Zara Stevens
Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories
Customer Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and funny introduction to a lot of science fields
Comment: This book is highly recommendable, probably one of the best science books for lay people I have read and definitely the most funny one. It is an account of a lot of topics, from the big-bang, the truly big numbers of the universe, life on earth (microorganisms that live in extreme conditions for example at very hot temperatures), the great extinctions, the meassuring of key distances of the earth, global warming, particle physics, genetics, fossils, volcanoes, Yellowstone, electromagnetism, darwinism, geology, etc. It is really about nearly everything, written in an entertaining and comprehensible way. The book is full of scientific anecdotes, amazing facts, funny comments and much more.
The only drawback I found in this book is that, although the author made several references to other books in each field of study, he made them in such a way that he discouraged me from reading further about these topics (I don't know why, normally I finish a book and I already want to read something the author suggested). Fortunately I had already read The Seven Daughters of Eve, otherwise I wouldn't have done it, since the author's critic was not very encouraging. After reading the part on particle physics, I decided that this was nothing for me, since although this chapter was interesting, I did not feel like reading more about dozens of particles with strange names. I am glad I also started reading other books about it. So although the book is an excellent introduction to a lot of topics, I didn't feel like diving deeper into anyone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Short History of Eeverything
Comment: One of the most stimulating, informative and funny book I have ever read. Since I can't remember everything, I am rereading it and enjoying it just as much as the first time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Short History is great for non-fiction reading samples!
Comment: I'm not yet done with the book, but I love the style of the writing. Bryson keeps the wonder and humor of the physical sciences which is sorely lacking in academic textbooks. I originally checked it out of the library, but I had to buy my own copy so that I could mark all of the places that would be great to use for interesting and provoking selections for my eighth grade English classroom. If you teach chemistry, physics, or reading to middle school or high school students,I strongly recommend this book for the short episodes which are easy to pull out for quick supplemental reading. My eighth graders loved the passage where the German scientist tried to turn human urine into gold and accidentally discovered phosphorous--priceless!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Comment: An instant, microwave version of the history of science covering various disciplines and told in the distinctive, witty voice of Bill Bryson. Wish school text books were this fun !
Summary: ALMOST EVERYTHING
Comment: It's a tough call trying to squeeze earth's history into approximately 450 pages, but Bill Bryson has done it. With his trademark gentle humour and a focus on making even the most complex subjects (such as the nature dark matter and our evolution from chimp to Homo sapien) easy to grasp, Bryson has created a thoroughly readable and more importantly, enjoyable, book.
I am no science whiz, and I will freely admit that there were certain topics that confused me or just didn't hold my attention (for example, I'm not particularly interested in the nature of clouds). Yet despite this, there was so much that I learnt from this book.
This really is a fascinating read, so if you're interested in learning a little more about this amazing planet we call home, `A Short History of Nearly Everything' will keep you captivated for hours.
Zara Stevens
Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories
Customer Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and funny introduction to a lot of science fields
Comment: This book is highly recommendable, probably one of the best science books for lay people I have read and definitely the most funny one. It is an account of a lot of topics, from the big-bang, the truly big numbers of the universe, life on earth (microorganisms that live in extreme conditions for example at very hot temperatures), the great extinctions, the meassuring of key distances of the earth, global warming, particle physics, genetics, fossils, volcanoes, Yellowstone, electromagnetism, darwinism, geology, etc. It is really about nearly everything, written in an entertaining and comprehensible way. The book is full of scientific anecdotes, amazing facts, funny comments and much more.
The only drawback I found in this book is that, although the author made several references to other books in each field of study, he made them in such a way that he discouraged me from reading further about these topics (I don't know why, normally I finish a book and I already want to read something the author suggested). Fortunately I had already read The Seven Daughters of Eve, otherwise I wouldn't have done it, since the author's critic was not very encouraging. After reading the part on particle physics, I decided that this was nothing for me, since although this chapter was interesting, I did not feel like reading more about dozens of particles with strange names. I am glad I also started reading other books about it. So although the book is an excellent introduction to a lot of topics, I didn't feel like diving deeper into anyone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Short History of Eeverything
Comment: One of the most stimulating, informative and funny book I have ever read. Since I can't remember everything, I am rereading it and enjoying it just as much as the first time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Short History is great for non-fiction reading samples!
Comment: I'm not yet done with the book, but I love the style of the writing. Bryson keeps the wonder and humor of the physical sciences which is sorely lacking in academic textbooks. I originally checked it out of the library, but I had to buy my own copy so that I could mark all of the places that would be great to use for interesting and provoking selections for my eighth grade English classroom. If you teach chemistry, physics, or reading to middle school or high school students,I strongly recommend this book for the short episodes which are easy to pull out for quick supplemental reading. My eighth graders loved the passage where the German scientist tried to turn human urine into gold and accidentally discovered phosphorous--priceless!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Comment: An instant, microwave version of the history of science covering various disciplines and told in the distinctive, witty voice of Bill Bryson. Wish school text books were this fun !