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
Rating:
Summary: Should be renamed "A Short History of the Sciences"...
Review: 'cuz that's exactly what it is. Here's an exploration of astronomy, biology, anthropolgy and more. The nice thing is Bryson approaches the material as a "non-science" person looking for explanations in layman's terms. At more than 450 pages, this book reads rather swiftly. Bryson's dry wit and tongue-in-cheekness, abundantly found in his travel narratives, is sorely missed in a book on a subject that can really use it. There are chapters that are a struggle to get through even with the "dumbed-down" writing, but I fault this reader for never finding the subjet of chemistry very interesting in the first place. But the idea that Yellowstone Nat'l. Park is a ticking timebomb just waiting to explode is a fascinating (if not overly-apocalyptic) fact. There's really some great stuff in here. A recommended purchase for all "non-science" types.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: Good book in typical Bryson fashion, but a little heavy on the biographical information. You'll learn a lot about the sciences and the like, but even more (too much) about the men who did the work. But the book is interesting and not full of trivia style information, though it isnt' exactly a "layman's guide to science."
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: An enjoyable and informative book by an entertaining writer who knows his craft. Not tremendously profound, but a fun read, and we need a bit of fun at the moment. I hope Bryson keeps turning them out.
Rating:
Summary: Dense
Review: This is a truly dense book. I doubt it is possible to cram any more information into 470 or so pages. In college I took a course entitled "Physics for Poets." This is a sceince book with the same intent - science for the non-scientific. It covers everything from the history of the universe to atom construction to the history of living things to human development, etc., etc. I found the book inconsistent. The first third is a history of scientific discovery. On top of telling the story, Mr. Bryson adds amusing anecdotal information about nearly every scientist named. At times these digressions got too far off point and I found I had to go back to remind myself of the topic being covered. Very often, Mr. Bryson would spend an inordinate amount of time describing scientific theories that were proven false. Occasionally these were interesting. Many times, however, I felt they were added only for humorous effect and did not add to the book.
Later in the book, it is straight science. Perhaps it is my liberal arts bent, but I found much of this to be tedious. This book is hard work. It began as history and ended as dry, often complex science. The best part of the book is that it relates how little we actually do know about our world, its history, atomic structure, and really every scientific field. The title perhaps should have been "The More we Know Tells Us How Much We Don't Know." That is the best lesson learned from getting through Mr. Bryson's epic tome.
Rating:
Summary: Armchair Traveler Develops Genius of Rocket-Scientist!
Review: When I picked up "A Short History of Nearly Everything" I had abosolutely no idea what to expect. As a travel junkie who can rarely afford to travel myself, I grab Bill Bryson's books whenever I can with great enthusiasm. His keen wit in presenting characters and scenes is unparalleled, and in this new romp (in which he narrates a journey through not just a county but through the scientific world as well as space and time) he is in top form. Bryson's everyman prose makes the mysteries of scientific thought interesting, understandable, and funny. The book begins with the building blocks of the universe and works its way slowly down through the smaller mysteries such as life on earth and why human beings even exist. However, the science of the work does not become overwhelming to the lay-reader and Bryson maintains an admirable sense of wonder and joy throughout. And, of course, the text is delightfully littered with anecdotes about the men and women who have dedicated themselves to discovering and defining these mysteries. Both living and dead, these men and women take on life that leaps off the pages, making them feel like old friends. And from the comfort of your favorite reading spot, you feel like you could be sharing a pint with them and Bill in a cozy pub somewhere. I recommend this book to anyone who has a inclination for pondering the large questions of life but who is equally interested in keeping his or her sense of humor and sanity in tact.
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