I started this book primarily because the completeist in me wanted to tick one off in completing the Bill Bryson set of books (I have one more to go). I was aware that this is an abridged, illustrated and watered down version of A Short History of Nearly Everything, targeted at a younger audience. However, I was delighted to find that, apart from standing by itself as a nice little general science introduction book, this more colourful version is also like a nice little summary to the meatier or...

Started reading this one with "the lads" after finishing "The Littlest Prince" in late August of last year. We read about two or three of the short articles regarding some unique aspect of the history and development of our civilization, planet, solar system, galaxy and universe. We generally read this book once or twice a week just before their bedtime to keep their awesome, developing minds focused on the wonders found in the world of science and discovery. It is a great balance to the Bible a...

Really short and interesting with a lot of pictures and easy tone - though meant for kids, works well for a coffee table book for curious adults as well.

Couple of years ago I realized I know hardly anything about sciences, natural history and the like. Most of what I learned in high school, I'd forgotten. But no prob, thought I, isn't that what books are for? Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" seemed perfect, but when I started reading that, it soon turned out it wasn't quite simple enough for my poor little brain. So when the YA version caught my eye, I jumped to the chance to learn stuff about nearly everything again. It turn...

We picked this for family book club but ended up not finishing it. It's a bunch of short writings on different topics (how the universe formed, how we know the weight of the earth, etc.) as opposed to a more connected explanation of how we came to be. I find it difficult to stick with a book when every 2 pages it feels as if you're starting something new. This seems to be the structure for a lot of middle grade/ YA non-fiction and I would love to find some (besides biographies) that explore a to...

Really refreshing book. Presents a great case of how grateful we ought to be here in the only planet we know of hosting life.

The "Grown-Ups" version is one of my favourite non-fiction books, so reading the children's version to my 6 and 8 year olds as bedtime reading was a no-brainer. Everyone needs more understanding of the world around us and the history of science is sadly neglected in our schools ('much more important than the history of monarchs).This was a challenging bedtime read. It was difficult getting them to concentrate on ideas that were new, overwhelming and difficult to grasp at the end of a day. Time p...

The kids version of what is my favorite non-fiction book of all time.

This was good, but better called "A Really Short History of Modern Science."

A little of everything, not much; not very thoughtfully done.

This book, A Really Short History of Nearly Everything, is exactly how the title describes it. From microbes, bacteria, and viruses all the way to Earth’s age! Inside it explains prehistoric animals, measuring Earth, the Earth’s age, supernovae, many famous scientists... and so much more. Not only science, but math and history as well! In my opinion this book is a great read for all ages. You are never too young or too old to learn something new! It shows many great pictures, drawings, and diagr...

This book took me SO long to finish. Honestly, I started it the last week or so of July and finished it the last week of September. Nonfiction has always been hard for me and is generally a genre I stay away from. This book was nice but definitely not my favorite.I loved the way it was written. Bryson’s writing is witty and entertaining but he still packs tons of information into relatively small paragraphs. The book was also not what I expected. I thought it would be more about historical event...

I love this kids' version of the book--it covers most of what we teach in sixth grade social studies and science all in one book! It's kind of like a human primer. I think everyone should read it..and I also think it should serve as a textbook in middle school social studies classes.

A slow bedtime read, but I felt I learned something every few pages. The biographical detail and scientifically accurate terms were pretty heavy, but I liked Bryson’s clear passion for the subject matter. Not as much humour as normal for Bryson, but I wasn’t disappointed.

All kids must read this book...

This is a great book for children and adults alike. It’s very succinct and complete.

I read the original book more than 10 years ago (A Short History of Nearly Everything), since then I've praised it endlessly and often referred to it as one of my favorite books. I was amused to find this "really short" version of it, and it's super-super-abridged (I mean, the original is 500+ pages and this one is less than 200 and with pictures) but it's still packed with lots of useful and interesting information and it really does cover nearly everything, from the beginning of the universe u...

Few books have been as influential on my life as Bill Bryson’s A Very Brief History of Nearly Everything. When I first read it at the age of 8, my love for science was ignited in a way that set my life on a fantastic course. I remember devouring it and becoming fascinated by all the wonders of life that have been discovered through the years.This book is a fantastic exploration of the wonders of science. As the name says, it covers everything from cosmology to evolution, in a fantastic way that

I've had a really long relationship with various versions of this book, having co-translated the first edition in Greek with my father, more recently translated an amended edition on my own, and now having translated this edition. Bryson is among the great beasts of popularizing science, notably, in this case, ALL of science, so there is not much for me to say in this regard. What I can say, is that the illustrations for this book are wonderful, vibrant and eye-catching. It is, indeed, what many...

I started to read this book after I heard it was an actual science book that taught science in a fun way. Never before had I read a science book that was so interesting and easy to read. Bill Bryson really does explain the history of "nearly everything." Great illustrations also add to the book by showing a visual summary of each page.Not only are there scientific facts and knowledge, but there are also explanations on each and every thing that an average person would not know. This book is a gr...

Without doubt, this would be my Desert Islands Discs choice - the one book I would take. Although I haven't studied science since age 13, I found this history of science fascinating and accessible (although the first section on space was full of mind-boggling numbers, the other sections were easier to digest). Bryson particularly excels as fascinating details that less thorough (or more academic) writers might miss out - the tales of rival scientists, dogged amateurs, strange origins and doomed

The power this book holds with all the information, dang. I wish the books they used at school were as great and interesting but nah. I'm not even a kid anymore I guess but still found the book great. Why do textbooks always need to be so dull? Can't they all be like this? This makes one actually learn without it feeling like a chore.Seriously speaking, though, if every kid read this they could pretty much just skip all science classes until high school.

In this book, Bryson takes his vast knowledge and wealth of life experience, and condenses and simplifies it into language which is considerably more readable to children. Bryson presents information in a way that is understandable, giving children a real opportunity to grasp some of the more difficult scientific concepts. Working chronologically, it presents an overview of, as the title suggests, nearly everything. This book is a must read for any inquisitive child.

I was hoping for something for a slightly more mature reader, but this one was interesting. I think it'd be a really great addition to a primary school science curriculum, especially if an adult was reading it aloud and making comments. It would be a good jumping off point to delve deeper into things that might interest the child.

I read this as a complement to Bryson's A Short History on Everything. And I enjoyed. I really enjoyed it.It was condensed, but follows the same outline as the former book, and the illustrations accompanying the material was also nice. Bryson's sense of humor is charming as always.

A wonderful introduction to the world of science written in a language that is funny and erudite both at the same time. The childish sketches accompanying the text, however, are not particularly appealing and could well have been avoided.A good, enjoyable read.

Have you ever wondered HOW we know what we know in science and history? Sure, we know gravity keeps us down. But how did we figure that out? Bill Bryson takes science and history and adds a touch of swagger and fun to keep readers interested while learning some cool facts.

This book has been one of my favorites for a very long time. I really enjoy understanding how things work and coupled with Bill Bryson's beautiful way with words resulted with an amazing read. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to finish it!

There's nothing short about many of the scientific topics. For mine it could have been very condensed to make it a lighter read. Science buffs will no doubt love all the in depth detail of nearly everything.

When I first read the title,I said what everything?, that's kind of BS but after reading it even tho it obviously didn't cover all, it sure makes u feel like it did, in general I like it, a very good book