Rating: 
Summary: quick read
Review: A wonderful "quick read" on the history of discovery in the sciences. An amazing cast of historic characters, most of whom are not well known.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Knowledge for the Curious Amateur
Review: The title of this book really does it justice. From the beginning of the universe (and how it began) to cells, atoms, human life and everything else scientific, this book covers it.Now, if you are even well-read in any scientific area, this book may not be so exciting to you. No book under 500 pages can do a history of "everything" full justice, but if you are an amateur, and a curious one at that, this book provides foundational knowledge in physics, chemistry, anthroplogy, biology and astronomy. The most wonderful thing about this book, though, is Bryson's ability to convey the most complex theories and concepts in terms that I really believe a 6 year old could understand. I didn't understand isotopes, protons, the quantum leap, relativity or the troposphere all through high school, but within 30 seconds, this guy explains it so clearly. He also provides a true understandinig of how big or small, how far or near things are with easy to picture and grasp analogies. If you're someone who likes to soak up knowledge and have always been curious about this sort of information, this is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Science Gossip Galore
Review: This book is not about science, but science gossip. As a purveyor of gossip it does a marvelous job. It tells you more than you ever want to know about the background of some discoveries and the human side of some of the big names in science and technology. Bryson sourced his materials from an impressive array of books and other publications and weaved them into a readable, almost connected, set of essays. As we all know, just because something appears in print does not mean it is true, and just because something is true does not mean it is the whole story, much less an objective one. I don't know how much of the material has been independently confirmed. Unlike most other books of this genre, which focus on informing the lay reader on the science and the scientists, and add some gossip to liven things up, this book is full of gossip and has scant retainable information. It is not a bad book to kill time on a plane and be entertained; it is just not particularly useful.
Rating: 
Summary: A Waste of Money, Time and Materials
Review: I got a copy of this book for Christmas. It does not deserve even 1 star. I tried to read it from the beginning but it was so bad I tried to find a chapter by skipping ahead to find something that would be interesting or entertaining or something other than boring. Alas it was not to be. This has got to be one of the worst books I have ever read and I am including school textbooks. Save your money and either go to a museum, planetarium or watch PBS. I believe that you will be more likely to stay awake. I find it interesting that if you try to browse throught the sample pages at Amazon.com all you see are the cover notes, table of contents and the index. If this was any good I would think that a legitimate sample of the actual writing (if you can call it that) would be included.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun Science/History Read
Review: I did this on CD on my way to and from work. It's a fun listen, but would probably be a dry read. You won't pass any college physics classes with this, but it sure will help you if you like the show Jeopardy. It covers about 5 billion years and lightly touches on a lot, so it has little depth. However, Byrson keeps it interesting and does a good job tying it all together. I would say it's a good buy overall.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating view of scientists and the scientific process
Review: This is a book meant to be about science and there is quite a lot of rudimentary science in it. But it is as much about those who have practiced in various scientific fields over the last 400 years or so. Science itself often takes a back seat to the personalities involved. This is illustrated by the fact that there is not a single illustration. Nor a single diagram. Author Bill Bryson seems as fascinated by scientists as he is by science. In fact, the book could be viewed first and foremost as a series of absorbing vignettes of nearly everyone who has made significant contributions to our knowledge of the universe since the eighteenth century --- and of many whose contributions weren't so significant. These biographical sketches are artfully organized around a survey of the progress of scientific understanding in various fields: cosmology, earth sciences, biology, and particle physics taking the main parts. The explanations won't satisfy those looking for a deep or sophisticated understanding of the subject matter. (Entropy, for example, is covered in a footnote.) Nonetheless, taken as a whole, the book does provide a useful survey of modern scientific thought and its origins. For the science itself, the book falls somewhere between a dictionary and an encyclopedia, but more readable than either. The book's main text comes dangerously close to 500 pages. It takes some time to get through, requiring frequent sabbaticals, but is always worth returning to. The discussion of the likelihood of a meteor impact that could destroy civilization is truly alarming. That assessment alone makes the book either worth reading or worth avoiding, depending on whether you are a realist or an alarmist. The same holds true for Bryson's discussion of bacteria, which is definitely not for the squeamish. Some of the biographical material may seem familiar, particularly the more significant episodes. This will be especially true to those who have read most of the essays and books of Stephen Jay Gould. Gould provided a much deeper insight into the details, context, and meaning of scientific discoveries and disputes. Like Gould, Bryson has an accessible writing style. Bryson's is breezier and often wittily sarcastic. Consider this characteristic excerpt from his description of the magnum opus of one James Hutton: "Hutton's 'Theory of the Earth' is a strong candidate for the least read important book in science (or at least it would be if there weren't so many others)." Two telling passages are found on successive pages in Bryson's discussion of cosmology. He writes "Astronomers have been sometimes been compelled (or willing) to base conclusions on notably scanty evidence," and "At least the names for the two main possible culprits [for the purported missing matter in the universe] are entertaining: they are said to be either WIMPS ... or MACHOs." A possible inference from this and other examples (see "Quarks") is that scientists disguise their lack of certainty by spending too much time on inventing annoyingly cute names for purely theoretical concepts. A very distinctive view of scientists and the scientific process emerges from the book. Those still living (with the exception of Francis Crick) get admiring treatment. Dead practitioners get mostly bad - or at least decidedly mixed - reviews. As a class, they come across as arbitrary, jealous, prone to error, conceited, pathologically eccentric, criminally willing to claim credit for the ideas of others, and obstinately unwilling to accept new ideas. However unfair or inaccurate, that certainly makes for interesting reading.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: Funny, readable, interesting, moving, insightful, mind-blowing, and just about everything else you'd expect from this great author--everything but the kitchen sink! This book is a must for everyone. Kudos to Mr. Bryson! Also recommended: A Walk in the woods and McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for science and liberal arts majors alike
Review: Recently read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. He authored A Walk in the Woods, a hilarious account of his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail from GA to Maine. A Short History is truly a short-short history of the all the sciences , including bizarre anecdotes about major and obscure scientists (Newton's passion was alchemy; his Principia Mathematica was almost a byproduct of his desire to turn lead into gold), interesting scientific trivia (one reason facial hair grows so fast is because men think about sex a lot, and thinking about it produces testosterone, which in turn makes facial hair grow faster...), and even the juicy behind-the-scenes details of scientific method at work (passionate botanists almost got into "fisticuffs" over the naming of a single species of North American grass). The best thing of all is Bryson's gift for articulating hard science concepts with a balance of brevity, common sense, and wit.
Rating:
Summary: A text book for humanity!
Review: Bill Bryson's writing style is so user friendly that he makes complicated topics like DNA structure understandable. His "short history" covers everything from the big bang theory to, well... us. Along the way Bryson explains nearly everything that one should know about this planet on which we live. He makes it perfectly clear that you are extremely lucky to be alive. The odds against you bing here, now, are astronomical! Just the section on cellular structure, DNA and the creation of life is worth the price of this book. A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING is one of those rare books that will make you feel smarter just by reading it. Although a long book at 544 pages including an extensive bibliography and index, it is a quick read. I couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the most fun book.
Review: I am a big fan of Mr. Bryson. But I found this book to be tedious. His travel books are wonderful because of his insight, warmth, charm, wit, and irritability. But this feels like a book that he wrote based on books he's read. It doesn't really play into his strong suit - his ability to articulate his personal experience. I guess I just don't see what this book offered that I couldn't get elsewhere.
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