This time it’s not the Appalachians or England.In “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, Bill Bryson has taken his readers on an exciting, informative and always entertaining tour of both the history of science and the details of the science itself. Essays covering an eclectic diversity of scientific topics ranging from the Big Bang and quantum physics, to paleontology, geology, biology, pandemics, genetics, evolution, glaciation, plate tectonics, weather patterns, volcanism and beyond are pitched at the perfect level to be accessible to the layman without being patronizing to a reader who happens to be more informed about a particular topic. Even the most esoterically learned science-ready polymath will find at least one or two of the topics set at a level high enough to be challenging as well.
Beautiful illustrations peppered throughout the text, a dash of humour and cynicism plus a wonderful series of amusing anecdotes and side bars make “A Short History of Nearly Everything” a delicious confection of eye candy and brain candy. The multiplicity and diversity of the ideas covered means that “A Short History of Nearly Everything” can be read in bite-sized chunks with the interested reader taking a random walk through the book starting at virtually any paragraph on any page. But the intelligent organization of the topics and the chronology that Bryson follows also guarantees a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for those that want to travel from first page to last in order!
Science-phobes take note! If you’ve been looking for a way to set your fears aside, “A Short History of Nearly Everything” just might be the ticket you’ve been looking for. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
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