Book Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything

The physicist Leo Szilard once announced to his friend Hans Blethe that he was thinking of keeping a diary: "I don't intend to publish. I am merely going to record the facts for the information of God." "Don't you think God knows the facts?" Blethe asked. "Yes," said Szilard. "He knows the facts, but He does not know this version of the facts." - Hans Christian von Baeyes, Taming the Atom

And with that quote, Bill Bryson takes us on an adventure of time in A Short History of Nearly Everything. Although you may have heard much of what is in this book Bryson weaves such an excellent tale full of eccentric characters and epiphanies that I was never bored and found myself in an ironic situation: rapidly turning pages through what should have been boring material.

The book covers everything that you really should know about the history of the earth, solar system, and universe. He simplifies what needs to be simplified, but not to the point of losing its meaning. He is an intelligent and fresh writer and never talks down to his audience, but is free to admit his inadequacy in certain subjects. Then, surprisingly, he comes up with a way to explain all the abstract away and get to the core of the subject. I was repeatedly enlightened by Bryson's ability to shave off the fat and get right down to the point.

In short, I recommend this book to anyone who has the most remote interest in who we are and where we come from. It answers many confusions that anyone who used a 1968 text book has about where we are in science today and what we understand about our past.