A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
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Book Reviews of A Short History of Nearly Everything
Book Review: a journalist's view of science
Summary: 3 Stars
Probably the most curious charactistic Bill Bryson's * A Short History of Nearly Everything is the first character of the title. How is a librarian supposed to alphabetize a book that begins with an asterisk? More importantly, what kind of book should the reader expect? The cover illustration suggests the the asterisk represents the Earth. In this sense, the book is intended as a natural history of the world. And that is how the chapters are organized. But the content focuses much more on the history of science and the character of scientists.
The book works reasonably well as a popular survey of natural science (cosmology, geology, biology, paleontology, and anthropology). Note however that the premier natural sciences (physics and chemistry) aren't covered. The scientific quality is no better than other popular science books written by journalists. He relies heavily on the tiring habit of citing large numbers outside of a meaningful context. I found Bryson's accuracy to be moderate to poor in the areas of my expertise. Researching the book, he apparently asked a lot of interesting questions, but often misunderstood the answers.
Bryson's book is much less appealing as a history of science. The book is a collection of isolated annecdotes that illustrate the foibles and character weaknesses of individual scientists. I suppose Bryson just wanted to demonstrate that scientists are people, too. But the actual effect is to suggest that the practice of science is no more demanding, disciplined, or rigorous than say, marketing or journalism.
In chapter 28, Bryson criticizes a book by anthropologists Carl Swisher, Garniss Curtis, and Roger Lewin "that devotes long, wonderfully unselfconscious passages to attacks on the inadequancies of other." Indeed.
Book Review: Not really short, nor about everything, but worth the effort
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is quite different from Bryson's usual fare. Here Bryson steps out of his usual travel and language focus to write about science. The product is an interesting combination of the social history of science, biographies of famous scientists, and discussion of significant scientific discoveries in very accessible language. What science does Bryson cover, you might ask? This is where "everything" comes in to the picture. Bryson has chosen a wide range of scientific discoveries, from working out the theory of evolution to discovering the size and shape of the earth. Mostly, Bryson focuses on the largest and smallest things in the universe. He looks at galaxies and volcanoes, but also DNA and atoms. Truly, this book is expansive. For the lay reader, it becomes clear that there's a tremendous amount of knowledge tied up in this book, and it's amazing just how much Bryson had to learn to write it. For the non-scientist, this book manages to create a sense of awe, wonder, and fear, all at the same time. Bryson does an excellent job of highlighting just how surprising and contingent the fact of our existence is, and how complicated it was to get here. He creates amazement as the reader is forced to consider almost unfathomable dimensions, both gargantuan and tiny. Contingency is clearly the most significant theme that emerges from the work. Bryson also paints an interesting portrait of the practice of science, scientific culture, and a sense of just how difficult and tenuous some conclusions are. While it's amazing just how much scientists have discovered, it's even more daunting to consider how much remains inconclusive. Overall, this is an extremely accessible discussion of some difficult topics, infused with Bryson's humor and style. It's a long read, but well worth the effort.Book Review: Harry Potter for grownups
Summary: 4 Stars
Bill Bryson is a talented writer who lived for many years in England where he had great success as a journalist and then as an author of a series of hysterically funny travel books. I loved the ones about England and Australia and even though it is years since I have read them, phrases, anecdotes, and vignettes from those books still occasionally pop into my mind.
Now, as far as I know, he is living in the States again and writing prolifically. A Short History of Everything is one of those books that explains science for the layman. It is not so much in the line of H.G. Wells' Short History of the World, which is about political history, as in the mode of Richard Dawkins' various works that bring science to the layman. The difference is that Dawkins is a scientist, while Bryson is a layman, albeit an extremely smart one.
What Bryson does have going for him is a brilliantly witty and lucid writing style which can be and is adapted for various purposes. I don't find this book quite as enjoyable as the travel books which rely on a mixture of research leavened with anecdotes based on personal anecdotes and memories, but it is an extremely painless way of informing yourself about things that you otherwise wouldn't know about, possibly while waiting in an airport or on a plane, meaning that you can arrive at your destination better informed than when you left home, with a raft of good conversational topics buzzing round your head.
If JK Rowling can be given credit for getting children to read, the same can be said of Bryson for adults. Lots of people will read and enjoy this, who would never read any other book on science, and if it leads them to read more of Bryson, or more of other authors like Dawkins (or even Wells) then so much the better.
Book Review: Welcome to the world!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know what is more baffling - that we know so little about the world, or that we know so much. Bill Bryson starts his short story of nearly everything with the remark, that "To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you. Its an arrangement so specialized and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exsit this once. Why atoms takle this trouble is a bit of a puzzle. Being you is not that gratifying at the atomic level."
Some might call such remarks trivial, I find them thought provoking - and so the books go on - a crash course in science, immensely enjoyable and filled with thoughts that makes you wonder. Surely, it is popular science - but noone, including scientists, are experts in all fields of scientific inquiry - so I am sure the book will broaden horizons everywhere - even though it is only a short story about everything...
I certainly don't agree with the reviewers who thinks the book is only for dummies - no, it is for the curious and intelligent non-expert, in short, all of us! And I certainly don't agree that >>"All too often we get the beginning of an explanation that trails off into a "and anyways it's all very complicated but it's it just fascinating" sort of gee-whiz summary. One suspect that we've just reached the point where Bryson has either lost the thread of understanding or perhaps just decided that he doesn't care to understand something any further."<<
No, if you want to know more about a particular scientific subject feel free to learn more about it in other books - 600 pages on everything will only go that far - obviously!
An Excellent read!
-Simon
Book Review: Gives You Exactly What the Title Says and More...
Summary: 5 Stars
By the end of this book I had a layman's grasp on quantum physics, a beginner's understanding of how the universe works, and a far deeper appreciation for God. That last one was probably not Bill Bryson's intention. But for Christians, this book is an important book to read.
First of all, it's simple. Almost ridiculously too simple. Second, it's funny. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. And its not just Bryson's humor about the topics that is so addicting - he tells the stories that you'll never find in science textbooks because...well, they're just too embarrassing. Third, it's encompassing. He really does touch on nearly everything. From the distance of stars to the structure of atoms - from the movement of continents to the movement of clouds with brief stops in the measurement of mountains and the depths of the sea - he seems to touch upon just about every topic of science that you can reasonably wonder about.
Two things that need to be pointed out (especially for Christian readers). First, you need to get past the evolution. Bryson is not presenting his material from a God-perspective. Additionally, because God is not in the picture, it causes Bryson to make some logical leaps that are, quite honestly, sad to see in an otherwise well-documented, honest presentation of what science knows and doesn't know.
But those are all minor points in the overall usefulness of the book. I'd highly recommend it to anyone and for Christians especially to just sit back and be prepared to be awed by your God who created and understands all these things that we are just dabbling in.
For the full review, go to the blog listed in my screen name and click on the Readings category.