“Every crease is a story.”
by Bill Bryson
Open Library readers: 4.16 / 5 from 101 ratings. Separate from ratings here.Catalogue checked 2026-10-02.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by American author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more so to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.
A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology.
Bill Bryson wrote this book because he was…
A Short History of Nearly Everything by American author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more so to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.
A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology.
Bill Bryson wrote this book because he was dissatisfied with his scientific knowledge—that was, not much at all. He writes that science was a distant, unexplained subject at school. Textbooks and teachers alike did not ignite the passion for knowledge in him, mainly because they never delved in the whys, hows, and whens.
The ebook can be found elsewhere on the web at:
http://www.huzheng.org/bookstore/AShortHistoryofNearlyEverything.pdf
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Bibliographic source: Open LibraryA Short History of Nearly Everything is by Bill Bryson. The catalogue records its first publication in 2003. A later edition may have a different publication date on its copyright page.
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The catalogue records 592 pages for a representative edition. Pagination varies with the publisher, format, type size and translation, so check the edition you intend to read.
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Look for a copyA Short History of Nearly Everything
Black Swan, 2016 / 672 pp.
ISBN 9781784161859
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Anchor Canada, 2006 / 624 pp.
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A short history of nearly everything
Broadway Books, 2005
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A short history of nearly everything
Broadway Books, 2005 / 624 pp.
ISBN 0767923227
A short history of nearly everything
Broadway Books, 2005 / 624 pp.
ISBN 9780307885159
A short history of nearly everything
Black Swan, 2004
ISBN 9780552997041
A short history of nearly everything
Broadway Books, 2004 / 544 pp.
ISBN 076790818X
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Black Swan, 2004 / Paperback, 688 pp.
ISBN 0552997048
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