From the Bookshelf of Metafilter…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
A Short History of Nearly Everything (2004) by Bill Bryson is a very readable tale of how very many scientists worked out the history of the universe.
Bryson is delighted to tell us about the huge number of highly eccentric often British scientists who worked out how old the earth is and how big and old the universe is.
The book is very relentless though, after the umpteenth chapter of learning how a shy vicar who only ate marmalade scones stumbled over a unique fossil for the fourth time it will ...more
Bryson is delighted to tell us about the huge number of highly eccentric often British scientists who worked out how old the earth is and how big and old the universe is.
The book is very relentless though, after the umpteenth chapter of learning how a shy vicar who only ate marmalade scones stumbled over a unique fossil for the fourth time it will ...more
I really loved this book. To be honest, more than I thought I would. It's intelligent, funny, and very human. It covers science itself, how we came to learn what we know, and the lives of the people studying. It's by turns gossipy, reverent, and wry. The scope is amazing--particle physics, geography, paleontology, astronomy. He leaps effortlessly from one topic to the next and manages to bring the readers along with him through this path of discovery.
...more
I listened to this, and the British narrator made the dry humor of the book a laugh out loud affair. What a great, great book. I learned a huge amount, and I'm a pretty regular consumer of science articles and books. I just wish we could get Bryson to issue regular updated editions, as so much more scientific information has become available in the decade since he wrote this book.
...more
So much information presented clearly. Written with excitement, knowledge, and humor. A serious approach in a droll and whimsical manner.
This is the most successful book in its genre that I am aware of. This is the book that everyone in high school - or has finished high school - should read. There is so much that is dry and boring. Feh on that.
This is the most successful book in its genre that I am aware of. This is the book that everyone in high school - or has finished high school - should read. There is so much that is dry and boring. Feh on that.
I loved it - wondering if there's an annotated updated version...?
...more
Apr 13, 2011
fellowhuman
marked it as to-read
Jun 02, 2011
Ryan
marked it as to-read
May 01, 2012
Zach
marked it as to-read
May 12, 2012
Kelly
added it
Sep 04, 2012
Eric Stein
is currently reading it
Dec 15, 2012
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Sep 14, 2019
Owen
added it
Nov 24, 2022
Chris Tucker Mear
marked it as to-read
Sep 22, 2023
Andrew
marked it as to-read
