#32: A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Short History of Nearly Everything was my first experience with Bill Bryson after having his work recommended by a colleague. While it took me about a month to get through due to its density, I found the book to be fascinating.

In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bryson investigates a variety of scientific questions, such as how old the Earth is, how we know what is inside of the Earth and where many of the currently held scientific theories came from. Even more than that, he investigates the scientists who came up with these theories.

While Bryson looks at a variety of of difficult scientific ideas, he presents them in language that is easy to understand. For example, he takes numbers and puts them into practical terms, such as looking at the history of the Earth as a 24 hour period and seeing that humans have only been here for a few seconds relative to that. He also incorporates humor into his descriptions, making the book much more readable.

Probably my favorite parts of the book were where Bryson looked into the various quirks of many of the scientific theories. Many of these people were very eccentric. Bryson described how Edmund Halley (of comet fame) went to ask Newton about some scientific calculations and Newton's response was that he had done those calculations twenty years previously, but had not felt the need to share them. Another anecdote was that Charles Darwin, a former divinity student, originally set out on his expedition to prove creationism. Finally, a story that stuck out was how Linnaeus, who developed the system of classification of organisms, had an obsession with female body parts. This led him to name plants and organisms after specific parts, which later scientists were quick to rename after his death.

As a sixth grade teacher, I also found this book to be useful. While I have a strong background in physics and have also taken biology and chemistry, I never actually took earth science, which is what I teach. The information in this book was a good supplement to my background knowledge, leading me to be better able to answer questions.

If you have an interest in science, but not a very specific background, this is a great book to read. I enjoyed sharing bits of information with my friends and my students, and I am looking forward to reading more Bryson.