*A Short History of Nearly Everything
By Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway Books
If you’ve ever read Bill Bryson, you know the experience is unlike reading any other author. In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bryson attacks–well, nearly everything, with his characteristic humor and adroit story telling. The book begins with genesis, that is, the beginning of earth and the formation of the solar system. From there, it outlines scientific history all the way to the 20th century. All the while Bryson entertains his readers with anecdotes about some interesting figures who helped push science to new frontiers.
The best part about the book is that it it entirely readable. Bryson does not mire the reader with obtuse scientific jargon, despite having every opportunity to. He explains concepts such as plate tectonics or evolution with such clarity and lucidity that even a business major (such as myself) would find them thoroughly engrossing. There is one drawback, however, to the book: it was published in 2003. This does not subtract from the book in any substantial manner, but reading it in 2010, some of the figures or data seemed–not outdated–merely, middle-aged, if you will. That aside, it is an excellent work, and an easy read sure to make you raise your eyebrows, laugh, and think differently about the world around us.
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