A Short History of Nearly Everything

Abridged
Author: Bill Bryson
Narrator: Bill Bryson
Genres: Non-Fiction, Comedy
Publisher: Random House (Audio)
Date: May 2003
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 4/5
Formats:
  • CD
  • iPod

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Overview

"One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining."

Selected Reviews

Too abridged

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Short History

by Hurdler
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 101

Reviews (101)

Too abridged

Written by Anonymous on August 13th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This was an excellent book, and I wished it hadn't been abridged. I would have liked to hear more.

Short History

Written by Hurdler from Pittsboro, NC on August 7th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Short History is long on facts and interesting happenings- very well put together and contains many amazing facts woven together. Highly recommended especially if you have an interest in the environment, science and so on...

Interesting but not funny

Written by TheDukester on August 7th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Having never read Bryson before I had no preconceived expectations of being "entertained" with funny quotes and stories as other reviews here have expressed disappointment with. Also, I did not find the reader to be boring, perhaps because I found the subject matter so interesting. This is a book that has so much information that I don't think you can easily digest it in your car. I suspect I will probably get it again in a year or so to brush up on my science. If you enjoy a casual interest in science, history, and the "history of science" you will probably love the book. If you are expecting a light, funny book because of the author's previous works, this is not for you.

Very interesting

Written by Maria on July 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This is a fascinating and interesting "story" of us and our world. Very entertaining and full of facts that weave a tale. I was sorry when it ended.

Pretty entertaining

Written by Anonymous on June 12th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I am a big Bryson fan, but this was not one of my favorites, though I did enjoy it. The subject matter was interesting but it was just sort of laid out, pretty quickly. Everything is boiled down so that it's easy to understand, which was nice, but you really have to be paying attention, and be in the mood to absorb everything he throws out there. He covers a lot of ground in 5 discs, but presents it in an easy to understand way that left me with lots of random facts to share with family when I got home at the end of each day. If you are up for learning a lot, and appreciating the random and lucky circumstances that led to our existence and our understanding of everything around us, this is an entertaining and enjoyable listen.

Nearly Perfect!

Written by A. O'Brien from Newport, VT on June 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Humorously counter-intuitive and thought provoking. The reading is easy on the ears and engaging. I enjoyed every myth of scientific method dispelling moment.

jIt was OK.

Written by JP 35+ female on June 7th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Just that. Just OK for me. I am quite interested in science and went through many years of education, but the presentation of the subject was not very entertaining. The subject is interesting, but the way it was done was boring at times.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Written by Anonymous on June 4th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I loved this! As soon as I finished the last disc I started over without hesitation. Very entertaining, well read.

Boring

Written by Brian Gleason on June 1st, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

Maybe it was the voice of the narrator, but it put me to sleep. There are some very interesting sections but overall I was not pleased.

Good read

Written by Anonymous from Gaithersburg, MD on May 25th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I loved this book, but think you have to be in the right frame of mind. I could listen again, interesting, and enlightening.

Selected Reviews

Too abridged

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Short History

by Hurdler
  • Book Rating: 5/5

More...

Read All 101

Author Details

Author Details

Bryson, Bill

"Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. A backpacking expedition in 1973 brought him to England where he met his wife and decided to settle. He wrote for the English newspapers The Times and The Independent for many years, writing travel articles to supplement his income. He lived with his family in North Yorkshire before moving back to the States in 1995, to Hanover, New Hampshire, with his wife and four children. In 2003 he and his family moved back to England, where they currently reside.

The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson's hilarious first travel book, chronicles a trip in his mother's Chevy around small town America. Since then, he has written several more about the UK and the US, including notable bestsellers, A Walk in the Woods, I'm A Stranger Here Myself (published in Britain as Notes from a Big Country), and In a Sunburned Country (published in Britain as Down Under).

His other books include Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe, Made in America, The Mother Tongue and Bill Bryson's African Diary. His latest book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, was published in Spring 2003."