From the Big Bang to today, science through history stories, which is so easy to read it becomes both fun and compulsive.

A "Piece of Passion" from the publisher...

‘Apart from his bestselling humorous travel books, Bill Bryson had already notched up a couple of more serious books (about language) when, frustrated at the gaps in his own education in and understanding of science, he embarked on this massive effort to explain the world, the universe and everything from the Big Bang to where man came in, in an entertaining and accessible way. In so doing, he created the best and most successful book of popular science ever, which apart from winning prizes, went on to become the bestselling non-fiction book of the decade: a rewarding and landmark book with which I and my colleagues are terribly proud to have been associated.' Marianne Velmans, Publishing Director at Transworld

Synopsis

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can’t contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization – how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, revealing the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

Reviews

'Deserves to sell as many copies as there are protons in the full stop that ends this review (at least 500,000,000,000).'
Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

'A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world in the same way again'
William Hartston
Daily Express

The amount of ground covered is truly impressive…it's hard to imagine a better rough guide to science'
John Waller
Guardian

‘Brims with strange and amazing facts…destined to become a modern classic of science writing’
Ed Regis
New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to America for a few years but have now returned to the UK. He is the bestselling author of The Lost Continent, Mother Tongue, Neither Here Nor There, Made in America, Notes From a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, Notes From a Big Country, Down Under and, most recently, A Short History of Nearly Everything. He is also the author of the bestselling African Diary (a charity book for CARE International). More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation