A Short History of Nearly EverythingOne of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining. From the Hardcover edition. |
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Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything
User Review - Kamesh Chivukula - GoodreadsA great book on the history off science from a master story teller. After reading this book I was Grief stricken for not choosing science as a career of choice. After reading the paper back, I brought ... Read full review
Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything
User Review - Agne - GoodreadsIt's a remarkable book. It reads like The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but is about actual facts. Some things that really stuck with me: 1. The fact that we [humans] are here is astounding. 2. We ... Read full review
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
LOST IN THE COSMOS | 8 |
TIIE SIZE OF THE EARTII 41 | 43 |
PART Ill A NEW AGE DAWNS ll? | 134 |
IV | 186 |
VI | 222 |
LIFE ITSELF | 236 |
Into the Troposphere | 257 |
Small orld | 321 |
Goodbye to All That | 337 |
The Richness of Being | 351 |
Iamins Singular Notion | 399 |
TH E ROAD TO | 419 |
The Mysterious Biped | 435 |
The Restless | 455 |
Goodbye | 469 |
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Common terms and phrases
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Bibliographic information
| Title | A Short History of Nearly Everything |
| Author | Bill Bryson |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Broadway Books, 2004 |
| ISBN | 076790818X, 9780767908184 |
| Length | 544 pages |
| Subjects | › Science / General Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |