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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
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Editor reviews
Summary
Featuring a special introduction written for the audiobook edition and read by the author
A Radio 4 Book Club Selection.
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's fascinating and humorous quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
Critic reviews
"Stylish [and] stunningly accurate prose....Brims with strange and amazing facts...destined to become a modern classic of science writing." ( The New York Times)
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What listeners love about A Short History of Nearly Everything
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Roy
- 08-08-05
A short Review of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson is best known for writing fun travelogues of his journeys around the world and, here, he turns the same sense of humour and writing style to this brief walk through the history of science.
Split in fairly broad swathes by subject, he addresses what we know, what we suspect and what we thought we knew but now figure we got wrong. This is interspaced with tales of the people behind the discoveries (many oddballs and eccentrics).
This is by no means complete, but there is a surprisingly large amount covered including cosmology, geology, biology and lots of other things you hated at school because they weren't presented this clearly or interestingly.
The only downside to the audiobook comes when discussing some numbers where the sheer immensity gets lost a bit without seeing it written down but it's the most minor of quibbles for a truly special text introducing reasonable intelligent science to the reasonably intelligent person.
215 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Helen
- 16-11-07
Long listen, needs concentration!
I decided to give this a go on audiobook, as the length of the actual book put me off. I'm glad I did. If you are expecting 'History' in the traditional sense here, be warned - Bryson's book covers 'History' in terms of the creation of the world, the universe and everything, and is in fact far more concerned with physics and chemistry.
Very interesting in parts, although I have to be honest and say big chunks went over my head - it's the sort of listen that you can tune in and out of as you wish. Be warned though - it's very very very long, so you will need determination to get through it all.
97 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. M. Curtis
- 13-04-13
This book has made me a nerd...
I am someone who listens to Lee Child's and pretended to be Jack Reacher when my family wasn't watching. I really don't know why I chose to download it, science ain't my thing! Or should I say wasn't, my friends think I've gone mad. Conversations are now punctuated by "did you know..." Or "I've just discovered...."
What's happened to me? The simple pleasures of Jack Reacher bashing up baddies just isn't enough any more. So be warned this book is a virus that will grip you, cause you to delay reaching your destination, and probably make you want to befriend bacteria. Don't get me started on how far things are and how small we must be....
Health warning: the genius and wonderful engaging pace of this book will leave you wanting more even after the hours and hours it leaves you hiding in a quiet spot gripped by its wonder. Use wisely and with caution.
93 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Dominique
- 06-10-05
A great contribution
I listened to it in the car twice, my sons read it. I bought four copies of the book to give away to friends. ALL found it incredibly insightful and well written. So informative about important scientific developments. The author reads it perfectly. Very nice to listen to.
83 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Gary
- 18-01-07
Knowledge enough to blow your mind
You certainly gets your monies worth with this book, as you'll need to listen to it over and over to get to grips with all the information contained. Having said that, it's easy listening and the narrator is easy on your ears.
62 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Jane
- 11-07-07
Terrific
I was gripped by this from beginning to end. Bryson provides an overview of modern science, tracing the story of various disciplines. What stands out is the way that he makes each narrative strand fascinating in its own right, while weaving them into a bigger picture. I loved the way that he provides a historical perspective on scientific endeavour. He's really good at explaining where various ideas came from and why they seemed radical in their day. I'm sure that if you're a serious scientist then Bryson is just glossing the surface. But as an interested non-scientist I found that this explained and illuminated a lot of ideas I had previously found vague and confusing. Fascinating.
49 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Demeter
- 05-06-10
An outstanding read
This book is a genuine tour de force which I have listened to now many times, and will listen to again, and again.
41 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. E. Ackroyd
- 02-02-15
Can't stand the narrator
If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?
I love Bill Bryson, but cannot abide William Robert's jaunty, sing-song delivery.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I listened to two or three minutes and switched it off, never to listen again.
How could the performance have been better?
I have a large number of Bill Bryson audiobooks and return to them again and again; Home, America, A walk in the Woods, The Thunderbolt Kid, but all read, exactly as they should be, by Bill Bryson himself.
You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?
For me, William Robert's readings have nothing to redeem them. I so want to listen to this book, but read by Mr. B.
32 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Dafydd
- 08-11-11
A Fantastic Book Ruined
A Short History of Nearly Everything was a standout publication, a once in generation masterpiece which everybody should hold a copy of.
Many years ago, I had the audiobook, I listened to it over and over, read by a excellent narrator.
Sadly this version is appalling, the closest it achieves to scientific greatness is a listening experience akin to Stephen Hawkins voice simulator.
William Roberts may be well equipped for children's tales, television voiceovers or impressions of a village idiot, but adding the required weight to volume of this quality he is left exposed and out of his depth.
Sadly the waste of a credit and now I am left to find original copy I so enjoyed.
27 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Sara
- 10-01-11
Brilliant book
This is probably my favourite non-fiction title I have listened to so far. It pretty well delivers on it's titles promise, in that it covers so many subjects, from the origins of the Universe through to recent man's history. There are so many entertaining anecdotes and interesting facts, coming in such high concentration that as soon as it finished, I listened to the whole thing again so I could retain some more of them to amaze other people with!
If schools could capture just a fraction of the interest that this book creates in their classes, rather than rolling out tedious dates and formulas, then I am sure they would find grades would go up. History, Science, Geography, Biology, Astrophysics are but a few of the subjects that are brought to life with real facts delivered in a humourous and informative manner. Excellently narrated and highly recommended.
27 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- dj
- 08-02-05
Torn on this one...
I will first admit that I really like Bill Bryson and own all of his books - even "Palace Under the Alps". With that in mind, it won't be a surpise when I tell you "A Short History" is something pretty magical - it's helped to open my eyes to much in the world around me.
So why am I torn? Normally I detest Abridged books - I like books I can get deeply involved in and enjoy over a period of time. However, as with his other books, Bryson himself reads only the Abridged version of "A Short History" - and if you haven't heard him read his own material - well you really should. His droll, dry wit is best delivered by his own tounge.
So, my solution was to acquire both versions of "A Short History" and I've enjoyed both - but I leave the Bryson read Abridged version in my car and listen to it from time to time - I don't see myself doing the same with the Unabridged version.
19 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Marius
- 30-08-05
Superbly whimsical
A superbly whimsical miscellany of knowledge. The narrator matches the style of Bill Bryson impeccably. The range of subjects covered is wide, and the treatment of each is first class. If every child starting high school listened to this before choosing subjects, there would be a far greater enrolment in the sciences. Whether you're a kid of 9 or 90, you will find this fascinating. I cannot resist a minor quibble - the wealth of Johannesburg was not based on diamonds, but gold. The South African city founded on diamonds is Kimberly, whence the term Kimberlite, the volcanic rock that frequently yields diamonds. That aside, what a great book.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- P Shveid
- 17-02-09
Long and Fun.
If youre interested in science in general this is a great book.
The price for over 15 hrs is a great buy.
Imposible to listen in one sesion.
Buy it, dont be chicken.
8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Steve
- 14-03-05
A
This is indeed one of the best books I have had the good fortune to read and also one of the best narrations from all of my Audible purchases.
All Audible customers should consider purchasing this book, whether or not you are history fans. The book is captivating, once you start listening you will not be able to stop -
be prepared to have your life disrupted!!!
7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Tushan
- 30-09-08
A short history of nearly everything
Very interestingly written and captures / sustains your attention much of the time. On occasion the digrassions can be a little distracting but, these are rare occurances. It provides historical context to the development of the subject matter and is very enlightening on the many personalities whose individual efforts contributed to the whole.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Stewert
- 04-04-06
Outstanding.....
Every human being should listen to this book. Not only will it make you appreciate just how far we have come as a species, and how lucky we are to be here (so many other species failed to survive). It will also make you realise that there is so far we have yet to go and just how wrong we can be, and occasionally, right.
An amazing insight into "the only planet you will ever know".
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Donn Edwards
- 08-09-05
Thorough, and thoroughly enjoyable
I found the abridged version fascinating, and enjoyed the unabridged version even more, even though it is quite a marathon. The narrator does tend to be a bit dry, but not unbearably so.
I found it extremely fair and did great justice to the Creation vs Evolution debate, and covers and explains a vast array of human knowledge in a few hours.
My own conclusion is that the universe was created, AND it evolved, much in the same way as light is both a particle AND a wave. To insist on one or the other is simply bad science. Bill Bryson's book is well written and well read, and I'm glad I bought it.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Z
- 10-08-05
My favourite audio book so far
This is my favourite audio book from audible so far. At first the narrator was slightly irritating, he sounds like the kind of "crazy professor" types they get to host pop science shows for kids, but after a while he grew on me, and in the end I think it was very well narrated.
The actual content is far too wide ranging to cover specifically in a short review. But it follows a coherent path about all those little tidbits of the history of our planet, our species and our universe, that everyone should know, but most of us never bothered to investigate.
Even though this is probably one of the longest audio books on this site, you'll still be wanting more when it's over. If you're interested in the general topics I mentioned, and just want a nice, "for the average person with an interest in science" presentation of this material, you'll thoroughly enjoy this audio book.
It rarely strays into the extremely technical or detailed, but still conveys the main thrust of the ideas. I highly rate this book, the writing is good, and there were times I laughed out loud, at the authors humour which kind of sneaks up on you.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jackie
- 10-01-13
Bill Bryson as always is excellent
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Although I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure that I got the unabridged version. It was supposed to be 19 hours and I only got 6 hours. What did I miss?
3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Denis
- 24-06-08
A Short History of Nearly Everything
This is a well researched and entertaining story. Bryson has an absolute knack for turning the boring into the interesting. It is clear that his interest and passion for this enormous subject grew during the construction of the book. Its a different Bill Bryson and I like it. BUT I am not a fan of the reader. OK I'm from Australia but I enjoy a lot of american reads. This one is very difficult to put up with for long stretches. It needs to be read with a fun lively attitude. Sadly this one did not. I have the printed book too which I love to pick up and read. If you can stand the reader, get the audio book!
2 people found this helpful