A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

Apr 2010 · Bryson Book 5 · Transworld Digital · Narrated by Bill Bryson

4.5

50 reviews

Audiobook

5 hr 47 min

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About this audiobook

A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's quest to find out 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.

His challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. It's not so much about what we know, as about how we know what we know. How do we know what is in the centre of the Earth, or what a black hole is, or where the continents were 600 million years ago? How did anyone ever figure these things out?

On his travels through time and space, Bill Bryson takes us with him on the ultimate eye-opening journey, and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

50 reviews

Paul Foley

September 17, 2019

Exceptional book for those with an enquiring mind - however this version has been edited in many places loosing much of the original romance, wit and energy. Having lost the first version I bought (via another vender who went bust) I then bought this with hard earned money & in good faith to find so much of what I loved of Bills naration wiped - definitely feel short changed. Reinstate full version Google - not right to sell part of a book - it undermines your integrity.

Sufal Swaraj

March 18, 2019

"A short history of nearly everything" is without doubt for nearly EVERYONE!! This is a fantastic book that every person abiding by the rules of reason should read. I recommend this book whole heartedly for youngsters, who wish to understand 'what and why' of everything. This book is not a textbook but explains all that we SHOULD be told in our science classrooms, especially in a language and style that, is light and funny enough to want for more!! I first read this book in 2004, but have repeat-read it several times every year. Audio version is very likeable too.

Bob Mann

September 16, 2019

I think any parent with a child who has even the slightest interest in the sciences should get this . Hardly a page goes by without a 'Really?' 'Gosh' or l didn't know that. A great read .

About the author

Bill Bryson (Author, Reader)
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 was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.
Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005–2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.

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