Title: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Author: Bill Bryson
Narrator: Richard Matthews
Genre: Nonfiction – Science
ISBN: 0767908171
Pages: 320
Audio: 17 hours 48 minutes
Year: 2003
Publisher: Books on Tape
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5

Summary/Thoughts:

A Short History of Nearly Everything is exactly what it sounds like. Bill Bryson takes us from the Big Bang to the evolution of humankind. In between we learn everything else: the universe, atoms, volcanoes, plate tectonics, radioactive decay, the rise of life, and more (yes, more).

This was actually my first Bill Bryson. Shocker, I know. But I’m hooked. I listened to the audio and I had so much fun learning that I found excuses to listen whenever I could. I am a bit of a science nerd in a completely layperson way. I always say that if I’d had better science teachers growing up, I’d probably be a kickass scientist right now. I especially love the science of space and the universe so that was my favorite part. But even things that I didn’t think I had that much interest in were fascinated when told by Bryson.

The narration was wonderful. Richard Matthews has an irresistible British accent that I could listen to for hours (and did). Be careful not to grab the abridged version (like I accidentally did at first). While narrated by Bryson himself, it is about a third the length of the unabridged version and you don’t want to miss any of it.

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