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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book
Review: This book was great! I was so happy to have found it. Bill Bryson really helps you understand what we as people know about our environment.
Rating:
Summary: great book !
Review: I learn something new each time I pick it up. I now know a lot of amazing history and facts about our world. I can only imagine how much time and research went into writing this book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent and humourous
Review: Bryson is brilliant in his ability to convey information to the reader. A great read. This book is entertaining, humourous, and informative.
wwr@virginia.edu
Rating:
Summary: A very readable book on a VERY dry subject!
Review: This is a great read. Long but very informative and interesting finding out how one scientist's discoveries helped, or hindered, another's. Great information about scientific ideas and break throughs throughout the ages. I have used several ideas in this book in sermons. For instance: If you enlarged a single atom to the size of a cathedral the nucleus would be the size of a house fly BUT 1000 times HEAVIER than the cathedral! Our entire existance is made up of "empty" spaces! Very mind blowing stuff on what we take for granted.
Rating:
Summary: A brief blurb of just this book
Review: Put off by science or just getting into it? Seems vast, confusing, complex and tedious? Why am I rephrasing the promotional blurbs!? Well, if you are ever curious at to what makes this world tick and how, this book will tell you what similarly curious ancestors did to satisfy their curiosities. Less of a science tour (although there's plenty of that in this 500+ page book) than a tour of scientific discovery and development. It's essentially A Long Story of Scientific Research; how we got here with sprinklings of what we have here. But it's not dry. And ultimately, for its target audience, that's the right antidote.
| 
