Reading Between The Lines: Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything

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Pop-sci for beginners: A Short History of Nearly Everything could be a good read.

I've touched on Bill Bryson before. His excellent The Mother Tongue was a complete retelling of the history of the English language in a style that was consistently quirky and humorous, more of an interesting story than a sterile academic recount of factoids.

Continuing on with this goal with a bigger and more ambitious target than ever, A Short History of Nearly Everything isn't exactly a one stop shop for being in the know of every single historical event, of course. Rather, it is a pop-sci take on the science of history and the history of science, from the scientific explanation behind the origins of Earth's birth and biology to discoveries made by pioneers.

A Short History marks a dramatic but successful brief shift by Bryson, who is largely a travel and history writer, into uncharted territory. Initially starting out as a double- edged attempt by Bryson to both gain a better understanding of science as well as conquer the outward appearance of both science and history as dry and dull, A Short History is pop-sci for pop-sci beginners.

It essentially creates an opening of interest for every aspect of science that a reader can choose to further pursue with other material.

But don't take A Short History for simplistic primer material either. Bryson breaks down complex scientific concepts into easy-to-consume words that sparks interest instead of confusion. Interwoven with this explanation of scientific concepts are the stories of the people who discovered them and the way which they stumbled upon such discoveries. A breakdown on the nature of atoms prefaces the story of John Dalton, from his early life and education to his scientific breakthroughs. Bits of writings on various scientific faculties are peppered with stories of Albert Einstein's involvements in them. It's all tightly written, the marriage of storytelling and scientific explanation.

A Short History will only teach you nearly everything — nearly being a fairly relative word. There is a wealth of information to be found within this book, and there's something for everyone ranging from those with a passing interest in science to those who can't stand the sight of the Grade 11 Biology textbook. A Short History began as the attempt of a non-scientific man to put the rules that hold life, the universe and everything we know into understandable perspective for himself, and that perspective is just as easily observable by those with the thirst for knowledge.