A Short History of Nearly Everything

“Stylish [and] stunningly accurate prose. We learn what the material world is like from the smallest quark to the largest galaxy and at all the levels in between . . . brims with strange and amazing facts … destined to become a modern classic of science writing.”—The New York Times “Bryson has made a career writing hilarious travelogues, and in many ways his latest is more of the same, except that this time Bryson hikes through the world of science.”—People “Bryson is surprisingly precise, brilliantly eccentric and nicely eloquent … a gifted storyteller has dared to retell the world’s biggest story.”—Seattle Times “Hefty, highly researched and eminently readable.”—Simon Winchester, The Globe and Mail “All non-scientists (and probably many specialized scientists, too) can learn a great deal from his lucid and amiable explanations.”—National Post “Bryson is a terrific stylist. You can’ t help but enjoy his writing, for its cheer and buoyancy, and for the frequent demonstration of his peculiar, engaging turn of mind.”—Ottawa Citizen “Wonderfully readable. It is, in the best sense, learned.”—Winnipeg Free Press

Bill Bryson’s bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words, and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. His acclaimed work of popular science A Short History of Nearly Everything won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize and is the bestselling nonfiction book of the twenty-first century. Bill Bryson was a chancellor of Durham University, is an honorary fellow of the Royal Society, and lives in England.