Eine kurze Geschichte von fast allem

Hardcover, 624 pages

German language

Published April 1, 2006 by Wilhelm Goldmann.

ISBN:
978-3-442-31121-7
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OCLC Number:
162406189

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4 stars (14 reviews)

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 …

25 editions

Review of 'Een kleine geschiedenis van bijna alles' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Interestin and well-written overview, but sometimes it relies too much on the reader's knowledge of the geography of the USA, which can be tricky for people from other countries. The Dutch translation is also a bit weird at times, a good editor would certainly have helped.

Review of 'A short history of nearly everything' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

At first I really loved it, I found it funny and humanizing the scientists and trying to go into the exactly the interesting question of "how have we found this out" about things. But as it went on I lost the feeling that it's like that and felt more like I was listening to just another pop-sci thing. It has more detail than the YouTube pop-sci things that I usually watch, but I got tired by the end of it.

I don't know is it a sign that I know more that I find less and less new in books (especially pop-sci), or a sign that I chose the wrong books - ones that are about what I already know.

Review of 'A short history of nearly everything' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book is fantastic for people like me, who has a big awe for the natural sciences, but knows way to little about them. Bryson does two things really(!) well in this book. Everyone has an interesting story, and he uses these to their best effect when describing the scientists. In that way, it's not only easier to remember them, it's very enjoyable reading about them. (Though an argument could be made against reducing people to their quirks.) The other thing he does really, really well, is making a coherent narrative where there isn't necessarily one to begin with. By doing this in both a small level (indivdual chapters) a and a big one (the entire book), it feels more like a proper journey through (nearly) all that we know and how we know about it.

The book is already a bit dated, but I am sure there will be …

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