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Tuesday, July 11, 2006 :::

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Rating:

Why I read it: I like nerdy science stuff.

What I think about it: What might sound like a highschool text book is actually a very entertaining and detailed history about physics, anthropology, paleontology, geology, and all science in general. Sure, it has a lot of names, dates, and places, but fortunately it focuses more on general concepts and how certain theories and understandings came to exist in the long sordid history of Earth. The good news is that Bill Bryson is an entertaining writer, so the "learning" never gets old or boring, and the topics jump around with enough variation to keep your interest. I have to admit, this book took me many months to read, because it could never really be described as a "page-turner" by any means, but there was so much fascinating information jam-packed into this volume that it never seemed like a chore. And at a relatively pithy 400-pages, you get a good primer for all things science, which will help you focus your interests for any future reading endeavors. I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone, although if I had another chance I would probably opt for the fully illustrated version, which has tons of pretty pictures and diagrams for slow readers like me.

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::: posted by dan at 2:37 PM :: #