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.
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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: 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.
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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.
Rating:
Summary: Paradoxical Work
Review: I found the title of this book to be somewhat misleading. It should have been titled something like A Short History of the Natural Sciences or maybe even A Survey of Natural History, although that doesn't sound very catchy. Anyway, I am sure the reason it's titled like it is would be because science books don't typically sell well. By categorizing something as a "history of everything" you are covering a broad area of potential topics to lure in a broad area of readers. Cha-ching! The book itself reads like a survey textbook but more interesting. Matters discussed are the cosmos, the earth and its natural wonders, and life itself from the simplest of organisms and bacteria to Homo Sapiens. I found the book to be engaging at times because Bryson presents the material almost as if telling a story. However, in other areas I think even the most ardent reader will find the book becoming dry. This is partly due to the subject matter (It's hard to talk about fungi and lichens and make it sound interesting) and secondly because there's an abundance of facts and information overload. Bryson apparently relies on others to supply these facts since he's not a scientist himself so we have to accept the information as the provisional facts of our age. One puzzling thing I found about the book was that during the beginning to middle stages of the book Bryson builds up this almost supernatural-like awe for the amazing splendor and complexity of life and even the universe itself. I could even see atheists saying that's God doing that! However, later on he basically says it's mostly by chance and there's nothing unique about us except that we happened the way we did...and oh by the way we'll probably all be dead in a relatively short amount of geological time. Paradoxical if you ask me. Besides these confusing points the book is somewhat worthwhile because everyone who reads it is going to come away with at least something useful or if nothing else have ideas refreshed in your head so you can sound really cool while playing trivial pursuit. I would have really rated this book at 3.5 stars out of 5 but of course Amazon won't let me.
Rating:
Summary: Mandatory Material
Review: Bryson's "Short History" should be required reading for all undergraduate students. His broad inquiry into some of the most important scientific developments in modern history should give us all pause to consider our place in the universe. One finishes this book with a greater appreciation for the incredible importance of the physical and human sciences.
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