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This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. There, I said itBryson's book combines the best qualities of science writers like Attenborough, Diamond, Durrell, and Wilson; presenting the information with the wit he is most known for. It is an amazing achievement to condense the entire base of human scientific knowledge into 478 pages, but Bryson has done it. I completely agree with Tim Flannery, who writes on the jacket that "all schools would be better places if it were the core sci...
Well deserving of its popularity and praise, this book manages to be fun even though it contains a massive amount of information delivered at a rapid rate. The title is hyperbolic; this is an introduction to scientific building blocks that will give the reader a basic understanding about the world, our place within it, and of the history behind major scientific discoveries. Though it has the ability to make one feel overwhelmed, I think it has an equal potential to be a good kicking off point fo...
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill BrysonA Short History of Nearly Everything by American author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more so to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. Bryson describes graphically and in layperson's terms the size of the universe and that of atoms and subatomic particles. He then explores the history of geology and biology and traces life from i...
2.5 Stars This is probably going to make me sound as thick as two short planks but I didn't like it, I knew going into this book that it was going to be a challenge as Science is not really my preferred bedtime reading but I do think its good to try new things but unfortunately yes this was just hard work for me and I struggled through this one. But on the plus side I did learn some STUFF just dont ASK me to EXPLAIN it to you and it did encourage discussion with my Nerdy other half which cant b
Oh my gods, what a waste of perfectly good paper! I am flabbergasted that this has such consistently high reviews...Three problems with this tripe: 1. falsity of the science (most blatantly around cosmology, but not limited to any one field) and misunderstanding of scientific principles;2. a focus more on "biography" rather than on real "history";3. trivial worthlessness of the information.Number 1 is briefly chronicled below. Within just the first 20 pages or so, there are ridiculous factual er...
A short history of nearly everythingThis is a remarkable accomplishment. From the author, of course, but also from me, to have read it. I'm not a scientist, so when I started reading this book, I expected that I would skip some parts. But I didn't ; I read every single page of this highly readable and enjoyable book. I won't bother you with all the scientific stuff I learned. Instead, I compiled a top 5 list of the frightful fates of some scientists. 1. Max Planck (1858-1947) was a German theore...
11/10 - a book everyone should read simply because of the knowledge it imparts to the reader. This is one of those books where I realised after a few pages that I couldn't even plan to write this book, let alone put the words on to the page. A stunning achievement and if I had to recommend one anecdote, it would be Edmond Halley (of comet fame) going to see Isaac Newton about the path the Earth follows around the sun. Halley and Christopher Wren (in the time when he was a famous mathematician /