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Jan 25, 2011AnneDromeda rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I haven’t read or listened to much of Bill Bryson’s work, but what I have gotten around to taking in I’ve liked enormously. A couple years ago I listened to the audiobook version of *A Walk in the Woods*, and found it so funny I had to pull over while driving a couple times because I was laughing too hard to see where I was going. *A Short History of Nearly Everything* may not be quite as funny (although it did have me giggling a fair amount, especially at our noble scientific forefathers), but it more than makes up for this by being so full of wonder. This isn’t to say that *A Short History of Nearly Everything* is by any means starry-eyed or overly cutesy-optimistic. Bryson’s notoriously dry humour keeps that from becoming an issue. His quick wit and excellent base of general knowledge break down the history of the universe and our little blue dot into small, crystalline chunks that even a Lit major like me can handle (an alternate title might have been *Existential Awe and Wonder for Dummies* - there are some very big concepts here that are made understandable by virtue of Bryson’s light touch). I’d recommend this book to anyone without a hard science degree who needs a little dose of old-school, humbling awe to spice up their day.