A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0

Hugely readable and never obfuscating. * The Sunday Times *This most enjoyable of books … A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide. * The Times *Bill Bryson has an unmatched gift for explaining the most difficult subjects in the clearest possible way. * Mail on Sunday *Mr Bryson has a natural gift for clear and vivid expression. I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written. * Telegraph *A fascinating idea, and I can’t think of many writers, other than Bryson, who would do it this well. It’s the sort of book I would have devoured as a teenager. It might well turn unsuspecting young readers into scientists. * Evening Standard *A genuinely useful and readable book. There is a phenomenal amount of fascinating information packed between its covers … A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again * Daily Express *The very book I have been looking for most of my life… Bryson wears his knowledge with aplomb and a lot of very good jokes. * Daily Mail *Of course, there are people much better qualified than Bill Bryson to attempt a project of this magnitude. None of them, however, can write fluent Brysonese, which, as pretty much the entire Western reading public now knows, is an appealing mixture of self-deprecation, wryness and punnery. * The Spectator *Lucid, thoughtful and, above all, entertaining. * The Scotsman *

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951.

His bestselling books include:

• The Road to Little Dribbling
• Notes from a Small Island
• A Walk in the Woods
• One Summer
• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain.

His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK.

His new book, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.

Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.