Rating: 
Summary: A great way to learn about science
Review: In learning history, it's easier to learn it in the context of a story than with a table of dates and events, so too with science. By covering the discovery of various scientific facts and theories as their story of how the scientists of their day figured them out, Bryson entertains the reader with fascinating background and makes the learning of science a pleasant byproduct of the story. It's a longer fluffier read than just reading a science text. For those who are just after the answers, read something else. But I found many of the stories fascinating. How did they figure out the weight and size of the earth? Or how far we are from the sun? Good stuff and nicely written -- if you don't mind a little fluff here and there (sometimes Bryson is a bit over the top on cheerleading about how interesting it all is).
Rating:
Summary: very curious
Review: Before reading two great books, I was very curious about two things...science and women! The two books that helped me understand these two things were this book and The Nice Guys Guide To Getting Girls. Now I really do fell like I know the history of everything!! I liked Bryson's book because of its easy laymen terms and its "non-intimidating" way of explaining science. I didn't really like science in high school, but this book made it so easy, fun, and humorous to understand. It's not the same old boring, hard to understand stuff that I remember from high school. After reading this book, I understand and learned so much more about science and the scientists who have changed history!
Rating: 
Summary: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Review: Bill Bryson has taken what it is and what it will be to a new height and makes reading about science fun along with expanding your mind. This book will help the average person without a clue of what makes life around us tick, have a good idea after they read this book. The book would be great used in a school classroom and would be great for any book shelf. When you have nothing to do and some time to burn why not learn about our beginning and life around you. Larry Hobson-Author "The Day Of The Rose"
Rating:
Summary: Quite good
Review: Very readable. Jumps a little from topic to topic, but in a story-telling sort of way. It is a flying survey of the history of the natural sciences, so there's broad but not deep coverage of topics. Very entertaining bits about the personalities of science. Sorta like the History Channel can make history so much more interesting than your history teacher did, Bryson makes the history of natural science very accessible. My only complaint is the last chapter. Bryson spends 400+ pages basically saying the universe is really complex, Earth's history of weather and animal life is extremely complex, there's a whole lot of stuff we don't know...but he seems to accept as Gospel the idea that humans are causing rapid extinction of species. It's a conclusion that is refuted (at least weakened) by the entire opus that precedes it. (I'm not arguing that we are or we aren't - it was just a jarringly inconsistent conclusion.) Overall, it was a very fast read. You won't walk away understanding the General Theory of Relativity much better than you do, but you'll have fun and learn the stuff you wish you'd learned in school.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but still entertaining
Review: This is a good book. And coming from someone who is not a big Bryson fan (which puts me in a minority, i know) is a big thing to say. This is an enthusiastic book about science: easy to read, entertaining and informative. It is not meant as a reference book - you would not read it necessarily to learn about science, but rather read it as entertainment and perhaps learn something on the way. But...it does have it's faults. About a third of the way through Bryson falls in to his usual trap of spending an inordinate amout of time on 'things that can kill us'. In previous books this has usually been in the form of animals (bears, crocodiles, jellyfish etc. etc.) but here he gets hung up first on asteriods that could crash into the earth at any time, then volcanos and earthquakes. Not that these are not interesting subjects, but he goes on and on. And he doesn't really stick to the history aspect, just about how scary it all is if you think about it. A big let down for this reader. He does recover, however, and goes on to finish a good book. The first third or so is more a history of the discoverers/theorisers of early science, the second 2/3rds (minus the disaster theories) is more actual history of science. It is well written, goes at a good pace, and was entertaining. There have been some reviews who have pointed out factual inaccuracies which detract from the book, in that whenever you read something fascinating, a voice in the back of your head asks 'but is it actually true?' Oeverall however, i would recommend this book if you are looking for something entertaining to read with a bit of depth to it. You don't have to be a science buff to truly enjoy it, just someone who likes to learn something new about the world around them. Who knows, this might actually explain something that previously didn't make much sense to you!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: This is a very interesting read. Would make a great gift for anybody remotely interested in science. There are two themes that come through in this book: 1) without ever referring to the spiritual, God, or a "Higher Power," Bryson demonstrates the infinite number of variables which came together to form intelligent life on earth; 2) he explains the multitude of natural disasters which humans still have no control over. After reading this book, you are sure to question not only how we got here, but why we are STILL here.
Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable romp through science
Review: I agree with the reviewers who state that there are some inaccuracies. Actually, Bryson even points out some of them in his Acknowledgements. The larger point, however, is that Bryson makes science fun and interesting. It briefly touches on a wide range of topics and whets the reader's appetite to find out more independently. Thus, while I would not recommend it as a reference book, I could definitely see science teachers using some of the more humorous passages during instruction to add life to the sciences and making science much more enjoyable for their students. Overall, an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but questionable...
Review: I'm about 1/2-way through the book and I've found it to be very entertaining so far. However, I had wanted to use this as a reference (I teach science at a community college) and I have found two really stupid errors so far that any decent science editor should have corrected. 1. Loss of the Saturn V booster plans during a NASA reorganization. No. They still have them. The problem is how to build the dang things since you need 60's-era parts. Who's gonna make 'em? 2. Glass flows and all you have to do is look at old cathedral glass to prove it (it's thicker at the bottom). This one I hate because I was taught it. You know why cathedral glass is thicker at the bottom? Here's a hint- only 1/2 will be thicker at the bottom. The other 1/2 will be thicker at the top. That's how the stuff was made! We have better manufacturing processes, now. This makes me ask- "what else?" I would question the use of this as a reference unless you are very careful about verification.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to believe science and history could be so interesting!
Review: I loved this book. When I bought it I planned to read a chapter
or two each night before bed. Unfortunately, it was so hard to
put down that I stayed up later than I should have many nights
until I finished reading it. The book is so well written you
don't realize how much info you're actually being given. And along with the facts there are little tidbits of information that
really personalize the people who have contributed much to many
of the advancements in our history. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Abridged audio
Review: A wonderful refresher as well as a lesson in the intriguing field of science. Though I would have preferred an unabridged version, the abridged version is chuck full of the most important discoveries. Bill Bryson has done a wonderful job in making science easy to understand and easy to love. Highly recommended
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