Not short, but a good read... (A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson)

Member Name: Daniel K

Product:	A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Date:	27/06/04 (994 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's written by Bill Bryson, Informative and interesting, Makes science more appealing

Disadvantages: May be too boring or hard to read for some, Quite a long book

Most people on here (particularly long-term members of Dooyoo) will know that I am a big fan of Bill Bryson, and own practically all of his books. 'A Short History of Nearly Everything', his most recent book, first published last year, and was the only one I didn't have up until recently.

The book was published last year, but is now available in paperback, so I had to go and get a copy. 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' is a bit of a departure from what Bill Bryson normally writes about; mostly travel writing, but also a bit about the English language. Instead, this book is more about science, the universe, and how we got here. If you don't like this sort of thing, then you probably wouldn't enjoy the book!

The book is divided into six different sections covering various subjects related to science, such as chemistry and physics, as well as including a short introduction, explaining how Bryson came to write this book in the first place, and about his interest in science. The other sections are as follows:-

'Lost in the Cosmos'; this first section (and also the shortest one) starts off looking at how the universe came to be about, and how you would create a universe; Bryson also looks at some of what exists within our universe, e.g. planets, stars, etc, as well as how it was found, and who discovered it.

'The Size of the Earth'; this section looks at the history of how scientists went about measuring the Earth, in both size and weight. Bryson also examines who discovered various facts about the Earth. There's also a chapter devoted to how the first fossils on Earth were found, and by whom, as well as one about chemical elements and who discovered them.

'A New Age Dawns'; this section begins with a
look at various scientists and theories that helped to change the face of science; another chapter takes a detailed look at atoms and how they were discovered. There are also chapters about the use of lead in science, and about plate tectonics and how it's influence on the Earth.

'Dangerous Planet'; this section looks at dangerous natural events on Earth, such as Earthquakes, volcanoes, and what would happen if an asteroid hit us. Bryson also looks at past examples of all these, and what impact they had on the Earth. There's also a chapter about Yellowstone National Park, which Bryson visits, and looks at the geology and volcanic history of the park.

'Life Itself'; this section begins with a chapter about how life (particularly humans) have managed to adapt to life on Earth despite all the dangers we face; Bryson also examines why life exists on Earth, but nowhere else in the Solar system; there also chapters about the troposphere and how it affects our climate, and a look at the sea, it's effect on the Earth, and the history of how it was explored. There are also other chapters where Bryson examines things like microbes, cells, as well as DNA and genetics.

'The Road to Us'; this final (and pretty short) section looks at the emergence of human beings on Earth, how we have evolved up to the present day, and how we have affected the planet.

One of the things I noticed about reading this book is that both the length of the chapters and also the overall length of 'A Short History...’, which is about 678 pages long, is quite a bit longer than in most of Bryson's other books; this isn't too much of a surprise, because as you can see from above, there are a lot of subjects covered in the book, all connected with science.

This is
n't necessarily a criticism of the book, but it took me quite a bit longer to read this than some of Bryson's other books. Some of the end of the book is also taken up with Notes on quotations from other authors, a Bibliography, as well as an index - and this adds a few extra pages, too.

Like I mentioned earlier, you will probably like this book if you've enjoyed reading any other books by Bill Bryson, or if you enjoy the subjects of science. If not, you might not like this book much; and if you have not read a Bill Bryson book before, I would not recommend starting with 'A Short History of Nearly Everything', as it can be quite complex and detailed in places.

Overall I found 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' a fairly enjoyable read, if a bit difficult to follow or understand in places. However, as it attests on the inside covers, Bryson does manage to make science and various other subjects discussed in the book fairly interesting and enjoyable, which is no mean feat! I bought my paperback copy for around £6.99, but the hardback version (which came out first) is about twice this price, about £12.99. I liked this book, and if you also like Bryson's style of writing, this is a book worth getting your hands on.

Thanks for Reading. :-)

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