Book Review- A Short History of Nearly Everything

OK, so here is one of those books that we have all seen on the shelves at exclusive books and wondered about... i can imagine many have read it too.

I started reading it in march and it is now june so it took me a good 3 months to get through it. This is mainly because i kept it as a bedtime book (mistake) and so i made progress at about 2 pages a night. The book requires concentration and an alert mind- all the things i do not have at bed time. Anyways, im going to divide this short review into a couple of good points and a couple of bad about the book 'cos at the end of the review im going to tell you that you should read it anyway... so this way you know whats coming your way.

Positives
1. It is the best common thinkers guide to the development of science that you will find that is understandable and accurate (i presume this of course).
2. It is well written and Mr. Bryson does well to try and make science sound interesting and eve funny at time. This is a grand achievement.
3. The book covers so many interesting subjects... my favourites were the chapters on space, inventions that made scientific progress possible, and a look at the development of man.
4. You dont have to read the whole book. The book is in sectioned format and so it is quite easy for one to isolate only things that interest you and read about them.

Negatives
1. It feels more like a textbook than a normal book 80% of the time. I guess it had to be this way for the book to be factual and accurate but sometimes i found it a bit much. I would have preferred a less factual read with more stories cos then i would have maybe remembered what i have just read. As it stands now, i remember very little.
2. Some chapters are just plain boring. I guess it comes down to personal preference but i must say that at times i was just simply bored. I tried to remain interested but sometimes it just wasn't happening. I blame the book.
3. It provides a historical account for the development of man but suggests no theories to go along with the facts. Facts alone are so empty partly because there are so many of them and so many possible angles to look at it.. I was left with a lot of knowledge and even though i wanted this knowledge to show me something, it was never going to. And so now im blaming the book for now being textbookish enough. The book suggested no framework for coherent thinking once we know the facts. and i sort of wanted something like that.

I guess it is hard to have done what Bill Bryson has done... At the end of the read I am more knowledgeable and my perspectives have become more in tune with irrefutable reality and for that reason i think all people should read it. Just not at bed time.