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..and there will be a fourth. I recommend this book to everyone I meet and if they are in my house I insist that they take a loan of it and tell me what they think. If only I had a teacher like this in school I would have been a straight A student. Mr Bryson conveys knowledge in such a humorous and interesting manner that it sticks in your head. I still remember the day I finished this book for the first time. I was genuinely disappointed....not with the book but with the knowledge that it would be a long time before I came across a book I enjoyed reading as much...and I read about 20-30 book a year on all subjects. I have since read everything Bill Bryson has written and although I have enjoyed them all....this (in my opinion) is his pinnacle as an author.

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a great tour de force of the world in which we live and it's history. a scientific history of the world. should be a standard read for all secondary schools, would give science a fantastic sense of perspective.

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Buy this book! It is an idiots guide to the creation of the universe... AMAZING

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this book is a great little read :)) full of really interesting facts and covers a wide base of subjects(obviously) but in enough depth to be interesting but not to in depth to be boring ,,worth getting in my opinion

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This book is Bill Bryson's attempt at explaining, well ... everything. As he says in the introduction, he was, like many of us, confused and disappointed by science at school and didn't give it a second thought after his education was over. Until he was on a plane, that is, and realised that he had no idea of what was holding that metal tube together or keeping it in the air. None at all. Not a sausage.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is his attempt to redress that wrong. He begins by looking at the universe - how scientists think it began and grew - and is still growing - how the planets were discovered and much else besides. He then goes on to tackle the history of the Earth, humans and particle physics. This sounds so ambitious that it shouldn't work but, with Bryson's inimitable style, it does and turns out to be a great beginner's guide to everything science.

If there is one complaint with this book it's that it is a little dry and hard to follow in parts - the section on particle physics in particular - although Bryson does his best to liven up subjects which have a limit to their enlivening. He keeps the narrative moving by introducing the reader to a wide range of scientific characters, including their many eccentric foibles, and by pointing out the ridiculousness of some of the older theories but the stilted nature of some topics can't be denied.

That said, though, this is a great general introduction to science and should be read by anyone who wants to know more about the world around them.