A short history of nearly everything
Bill Bryson is famous for his travel books, especially about Australia and Asia – the reason he came across me in the first place. In this particular specialized book he wants more than just to tell the world were you can find nice places and interesting cities. Bryson claims to explain the whole world or, as it is mentioned in the title of the book, nearly everything.
In my evolving mood of exploring everything from physics to better manners it seemed a interesting purchase. The simple language and being “Spiegel” bestseller implicated that it would be fun to read and give me some knowledge about the physical nature of life i did not have.
Unfortunately i have to say the book did not meet my expectations. Although it is interesting to read and makes you laugh a lot (I really like books which get you to laugh in a crowded tram) the scientific character is merely a cover. For me the biggest prejudice about (some!) Americans got ratified again by this book – no sophistication.
Mr. Bryson explains in his preface that ones he flew over the ocean and wondered why the water is salty, the mountains look that way and the continents are placed were they are. Figuring out that all books about science and especially about natural sciences are unreadable he decided to write a special book for people like him. Maybe this was a success but after reading chapter for chapter i found out that merely 80% of the content was already familiar to me.
This was rather frustrating exceptionally because there were a lot interesting topics which the author mentions only in one sentence and steps on to a funny story about a wired professor or tells us that this topic is to diverse for such a book. Bryson himself condemns this kind of writing when it comes to other writers. I would say that it might be a good start for people who have not heard of the continental drift, the earth’s core, the big bang, Darwin’s theory of evolution or the theory of relativity (and I do not think that these people are only Americans!). For the rest the book can be a interesting read to refresh some knowledge and to make you curious about some further topics.
Still “a short history of nearly everything” is nice to read and the flavor of stories which make you smirk helps to overlook those faults. Although sometimes I start to wonder how those people at “Spiegel” make their bestseller lists.
Buy the English original at Amazon
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