A Short History of Nearly Everything

The incomparable Bill Bryson travels through time and space to introduce us to the world, the universe and everything in this groundbreaking book, the best selling popular science book of the 21st century.The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century and has sold over 2 million copies.'Possibly the best scientific primer ever published.' Economist'Truly impressive...It's hard to imagine a better rough guide to science.' Guardian'A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide' The TimesBill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us.Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry and particle physics, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. As a result, A Short History of Nearly Everything reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

“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”

Possibly the best scientific primer ever published. Economist
Sunday 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. And the famous, slightly cynical humour is always there 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
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 Spectator
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
Impressive in his terse concreteness ... 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. If, like me, your brain tends to go numb when faced with terms like plate tectonics, genome, relativity theory, big bang and particle physics, then it is more than likely that A Short History of Nearly Everything is the cure you have always been looking for...It deserves to sell as many copies as there are protons contained in the full stop that ends this review (at least 500,000,000,000) Mail on Sunday
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 and 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 is the biggest selling non-fiction book of the 21st century. The Body- A Guide for Occupants was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and is an international bestseller.Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005-2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.

Best-selling popular science book of the twenty-first century '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 'I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written' Sunday Telegraph Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, it is the biggest-selling popular science book of the twenty-first century, and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before. 'Represents a wonderful education, and all schools would be better places if it were the core science reader on the curriculum' TLS 'A truly remarkable achievement...a bravura performance, which will give much pleasure' Nature 'A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide' The Times

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