Description

Journey through time and space with Bill Bryson in the best-selling popular science book of the 21st century, exploring the history of the Earth, the universe, and everything in between.

NOW FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED.

‘Possibly the best scientific primer ever published.’ Economist

‘Truly impressive…It’s hard to imagine a better rough guide to science.’ Guardian

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays at home, he can’t contain his curiosity about the world around him.

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 is the result of his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization – how we got from being nothing at all to what we are today. Now fully updated it explains among much else:

why Pluto is no longer a planet
how the number of moons in the solar system has more than doubled in 20 years
how scientists used advances in genetics to discover previously unknown species of early humans
why we still don’t know what most of the universe is made of
how the little Higgs boson transformed physics

This journey through time and space will inform a new generation of readers, young and old, as well as those who read this book on first publication with a new perspective based on what we know now.

Written in his inimitable style, Bryson makes complex subjects fascinating and accessible to everyone with an interest in the world around them.

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 reveals the world in a whole new way.

Praise for A Short History of Nearly Everything:

‘I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Bill Bryson has an unmatched gift for explaining the most difficult subjects in the clearest possible way.’ Mail on Sunday

‘A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide’ The Times

‘Hugely readable and never obfuscating.’ Sunday Times

‘A genuinely useful and readable book… A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again’ Daily Express

‘The very book I have been looking for most of my life… Bryson wears his knowledge with aplomb and a lot of very good jokes.’ Daily Mail

‘Destined to become a modern classic of science writing’ The New York Times

Publisher Review

Hugely readable and never obfuscating. * The Sunday Times * This most enjoyable of books ... A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide. * The Times * Bill Bryson has an unmatched gift for explaining the most difficult subjects in the clearest possible way. * Mail on Sunday * Mr Bryson has a natural gift for clear and vivid expression. I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written. * Telegraph * A fascinating idea, and I can't think of many writers, other than Bryson, who would do it this well. It's the sort of book I would have devoured as a teenager. It might well turn unsuspecting young readers into scientists. * Evening Standard * A genuinely useful and readable book. There is a phenomenal amount of fascinating information packed between its covers ... A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again * Daily Express * The very book I have been looking for most of my life... Bryson wears his knowledge with aplomb and a lot of very good jokes. * Daily Mail * Of course, there are people much better qualified than Bill Bryson to attempt a project of this magnitude. None of them, however, can write fluent Brysonese, which, as pretty much the entire Western reading public now knows, is an appealing mixture of self-deprecation, wryness and punnery. * The Spectator * Lucid, thoughtful and, above all, entertaining. * The Scotsman *