A Short History of Nearly Everything

Rating:
Summary: Makes a dull subject come alive
Review: Bill Bryson is a great writer. I've noted before how his talent is to make the most mundane subject come alive with wit and insight. In "A Short History of Nearly Everything" he works his magic on science. For most people, there couldn't be more boring subjects than quantum physics or plate tectonics. Bryson, however, creates a page-turner by focusing on the quirky characters of science and their improbable discoveries. He also conveys a real sense of wonder and amazement about the word around us that is very endearing and contagious. If you want a fun read that will also teach you more than a thing or two, this is the book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for generalists
Review: To all of you out there that enjoy science as generalists this is the book to read. It has excellent accounts - yes from other books/magazines in some cases - but you cannot write a book to encompass this much information by doing all the experimental research yourself in three years.
I would recommend this book to all of you who enjoy learning an interest account of a lot of different scientific issues by asking the right questions...

Rating:
Summary: Great science primer
Review: Absolutely fantastic for the layman who wants to know more about the world around him. I wish there was a companion DVD to go along with ala Ken Burns.

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Summary: Why are we Here? An Owner's Manual for the Layman
Review: That the talented Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is informative is not surprising, but that is so entertaining is. Written in a breezy, conversational style, Bryon literally tackles the mysteries of the universe, from the "Big Bang" theory to the birth of the earth to the creation of life itself, and lots of fun stuff in between. Clearly, tongue-in-cheek title notwithstanding, this is not - could not be expected to be - a comprehensive guide to science and the evolution of natural history. Bryson's success lies not in revealing the answers to the questions of "why we are here and how did we get here," but rather how much science can't explain despite the pains taken and progress made over centuries in trying to unravel these puzzles. If you've always suspected that those minds brilliant enough to figure out the theory of relativity, quantum physics, and black holes were a bit different than you and I, Bryson confirms this through his lively anecdotal sketches highlighting the eccentric and downright bizarre behaviors of scientists from Darwin to Einstein to DNA Nobel Laureate James Watson. As Bryson wryly observes, the history of scientific discovery can be summarized in three stages: "first, people deny that it is true, then they deny it is important; finally they credit the wrong person." Packed with enough factoids and trivia to fill a lifetime of cocktail parties ("Did you know that atoms are so efficiently recycled that each of us likely contains a billion atoms once occupying Shakespeare or Genghis Khan?"), the pace is quick, unexpectedly funny, and liberally peppered with intrigue. If you are looking for a "Nobel Prize How-To" manual, or if you get excited plowing through scientific formula and intellectual minutia, "A Short History..." is not for you. But if you are awed by the vastness of the universe, the miracle of life, and the relative insignificance of humans when measured upon a scale of time and distance, this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Science made accessible
Review: I think that if Bryson's book were the only thing high school science students had to read for the four years of their studies in high school, they would probably be better off than what they get now. At the very least, it would be a handy supplement.

Bryson's book is full of fascinating stories about scientists and other people connected with science through the ages. I usually sell all my books back (or get them from the library), but this one is a keeper. Not only do I anticipate myself reading this again, but I will give it to my kids when they are old enough to appreciate it.

The only complaint I have about this book is that the title is slightly misleading: A Short History of Nearly Everything it is not. It is a Short History of Nearly Everything Science-related. I actually bought this book without knowing too much about it and I opened it thinking I would be reading about politics, economics, military conquests and so forth. Well, there are politics, economics and conquests, but they are all related to science and the history and development of science. Fabulous book - it is no wonder it has stayed on the bestseller list this long.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written synthesis of important topics
Review: The title of the book is grand and the project Bryon undertook is truly breathtaking. This book is a culmination of Bryson's efforts to his realization that he did not know very much about the world we are living in. He read books, travelled, met lots of key individuals, research journals and this book is a synthesis of that effort.

The first thing to strike one about the book is the scope of this undertaking: Bryson tries to cover truly massive ground - from the big bang (or even before) to the components of electrons and many other things in-between.

The book is written in a user friendly way and is targeted to the curious, non-scientific reader. This is an extremely difficult task for a subject matter of this complexity and Bryson does a remarkable job at making the content accessible.

Related but separate from the second point, is the numerous examples, analogies and word-pictures Bryson creates to explain the topics. For example, if the atom were the size of a cathedral, protons are the size of a fly. Such examples to a long way in providing a deeper understanding of issues which are otherwise difficult to imagine.

The chapters relating to the cosmos, atomic structures and scientists such as Newton and Einstein are really well written. The book is well researched and full of interesting anecdotes, Bryson makes no attempt to glorify scientists and points out the greatness of their contributions and eccentricities. Bryson also does an excellent job of highlighting the areas in which we know very little about - palentology probably topping that list with geological sciences not too far behind.

In terms of weaknesses, I felt that chapters relating to weather were slow, some sections flowed more smoothly than others, and I certainly felt that some diagrams or charts would have complemented the text. One thing I was really hoping for but did not find was a list of recommended readings based on Bryson's research. His chapters on Evolution could have been longer, but then i am biased towards that subject.

Overall, this is an excellent effort to distill a wide amount of insightful and important material and present this in an accessible way. A friend's comment when he recommended this book to me applies: get it, read it.

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Summary: Free Fall of a Brick to the Centre of the Earth.
Review: The present mini-review concerns a sentence in chapter 14 of "A Short History of Nearly Everything": "It has been calculated that if you sunk a well to the centre and dropped a brick down it, it would take only forty-five minutes for it to hit the bottom". Today, I did that calculation, and I found 21 minutes!
(I assumed the well to be evacuated; if it were air-filled, the
enormous pressure near the centre would solidify the air).