A Short History of Nearly Everything

Possibly the best scientific primer ever published. * Economist *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 * 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.