Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: It's a book with a little bit on just about all areas of science. Excellent choice for the non-technical. The audio version is read by the author and he does a good job. The style flows very well and is easy to understand. Well worth the money and time.
Rating:
Summary: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Review: Popular writer Bryson turns from geographical to temporal realms to summarize what has happened from the time of the Big Bang to now, especially as it pertains to items of local interest, such as the solar system, earth, life, and humans.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of money
Review: Should be titled, "A Short History of Nothing".If I wanted a book on Physics and 13th Century History, I would have bought one. Title is very misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: Games Show Prep
Review: I bought "A Short History of Nearly Everything" because of the recommendations by people who bought "My Fractured Life" by Rikki Lee Travolta. I really ended up enjoying it. It's a different kind of book. It's kind of science, history, and everything academic put in terms that John Doe Americana can understand. I guess I liked it because if felt like a prep course for the "My Fractured Life" chapter on the game show "Jeopardy." Hey, if Bill Bryson can make me understand science and history and actually make it interesting, it's got be good, right? Give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: A highly readable High School Science refresher
Review: Reading the first couple of chapters of this book, I thought "Bryson is trying to pick up the mantle of Carl Sagan." I had read all of Sagan's works back in the late 80's, and Bryson's chapters on astronomy and astrophysics weren't much better, or different. However, Bryson goes further in that he explores all the major branches of science -- geology, biology, physics, paleontology, etc -- in his direct and easily-understandable way. Bryson is a highly readable author, and he is a wonderful companion here. He tells the story of these sciences from a historical standpoint -- how we came to understand the world -- and takes us right to the present day. The bibliography is immense, the research painstaking, and he has obviously spoken to a number of current researchers in their fields. In short, if it's been a while since you went to High School, you would do worse than to pick up this book for a highly readable refresher. Another Amazon reviewer does make a good point. Bryson enjoys recounting science's "dead ends" -- perhaps dozens of stories of discoveries and beliefs that were held for decades, or centuries, that turned out to be completely wrong. Yet he accepts much of today's scientific dogma quite uncritically. As for me, I came away from the book wondering what aspects of our current scientific knowledge may also be dead wrong. If the history of science tells us anything, it should be that we don't really know everything we think we do.
Rating:
Summary: He Really Does Cover Nearly Everything
Review: Bill Bryson is one of those rare non-fiction writers who can combine anecdote, humor and actual information, all in one book. Here he covers the history of the earth, starting with the big bang and covering all sorts of ground since then, including why you should be really afraid of meteors (by the time we spot the big one it'll be too late) and why you should think twice about that next visit to Yellowstone (the big one is about due). As with most of his books it's clear he's done a lot of research, and the book is larded with the kind of stories about Famous Scientists that you've probably never heard...but also full of the sort of survey scientific information that will leave you thinking you've learned something really interesting. Definitely worth picking up. Who will like it: lovers of pop science, lovers of Bill Bryson, people willing to read a thick book from start to finish. Who won't like it: people bored by pop science or any science at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Some thoughts
Review: If you want to read a very interesting book about historical roots and cultural influences read "The Golden Milestone: Over 2500 Years of Italian Contributions to Civilization," about very influential Romans, Italians and Italian Americans.
Rating:
Summary: Better than expected
Review: I have to admit that I wasn't optimistic going in, but after a few chapers I was hooked. While I was expecting the writing to be either way over my head, or at the other end of the spectrum (the equivalent of my kid's science project after he'd attempted to do it by himself--a first if ever there was one) I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very middle of the road. And I mean that as a compliment. Not over-written, this easy-to-understand book is a gem of a piece and a must for parents AND their children, or really anyone interested in the world. Also recommended: The Life of Pi, Bark of the Dogwood, Birth of Venus
Rating:
Summary: ILLUMINATING
Review: So interesting and well written, I had a hard time putting it down. Byrson does an outstanding job of explaining what we think we know (at least at present) about the universe, earth, matter, and the development of life, without becoming bogged down in boring technical detail. At the same time, the information is not dumbed down to make it readable. I particularly like the fact that he exposes the fact that many advances and discoveries are credited to people who really were not responsible for them. This book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone curious about the natural world around us.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read, Excellent for Learning and Remembering
Review: Anyone, any age, with some curiousity in the sciences, will find "A Short History...", accessible, even inspiring. There is no reason why someone working in another field, can't (re)discover an interest in science, and follow it, with so much information on the 'net.
Those in the sciences might find some of this book a bit elemental, but it can be an interesting resource, filling and rounding out the little gaps of information we all have. It pointed out and filled sketchy areas in my own education and experience, inspiring me to delve more deeply into a number of them.
Bryson's book is excellent for university students, undecided or on the Liberal Arts path, giving a broader understanding of science and its history, even provoking enough interest to include true science courses, rather than the "Rocks for Jocks" type of 'painless' science req. classes.
A very comprehensive and accessible book, a good read, covering a lot of territory, well, both science known and how it came to be known.
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