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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
slow-paced
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
This book will blow your mind! 🤯
Quotes:
- We are each so atomically numerous and so vigorously recycled at death that a significant number of our atoms - up to a billion for each of us, it has been suggested - probably once belonged to Shakespeare. A billion more each came from Buddha and Genghis Khan and Beethoven, and any other historical figure you care to name.
- “But the thing is, most of the time bad things don’t happen. Rocks don’t fall. Earthquakes don’t occur. New vents don’t suddenly open up. For all the instability, it’s mostly remarkably and amazingly tranquil.”
- It is sometimes called the Great Swine Flu epidemic and sometimes the Great Spanish Flu epidemic, but in either case it was ferocious. World War I killed twenty-one million people in four years; swine flu did the same in its first four months. Almost 80 percent of American casualties in the First World War came not from enemy fire, but from flu. In some units the mortality rate was as high as 80 percent.
- Schools closed, public entertainments were shut down, people everywhere wore masks. It did little good. Between the autumn of 1918 and spring of the following year, 548,452 people died of the flu in America.
- No one can rule out the possibility that the Great Swine Flu epidemic might once again rear its head.
- If you look around you on a bus or in a park or cafe or any crowded place, most of the people you see are very probably relatives. When someone boasts to you that he is descended from William the Conquerer or the Mayflower Pilgrims, you should answer at once: “Me, too!” In the most literal and fundamental sense we are all family.
- To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.
- We have arrived at this position of eminence in a stunningly short time. Behaviorally modern human beings - that is, people who can speak and make art and organize complex activities - have existed for only about 0.0001 percent of Earth’s history. But surviving for even that little while has required a nearly endless string of good fortune.
Quotes:
- We are each so atomically numerous and so vigorously recycled at death that a significant number of our atoms - up to a billion for each of us, it has been suggested - probably once belonged to Shakespeare. A billion more each came from Buddha and Genghis Khan and Beethoven, and any other historical figure you care to name.
- “But the thing is, most of the time bad things don’t happen. Rocks don’t fall. Earthquakes don’t occur. New vents don’t suddenly open up. For all the instability, it’s mostly remarkably and amazingly tranquil.”
- It is sometimes called the Great Swine Flu epidemic and sometimes the Great Spanish Flu epidemic, but in either case it was ferocious. World War I killed twenty-one million people in four years; swine flu did the same in its first four months. Almost 80 percent of American casualties in the First World War came not from enemy fire, but from flu. In some units the mortality rate was as high as 80 percent.
- Schools closed, public entertainments were shut down, people everywhere wore masks. It did little good. Between the autumn of 1918 and spring of the following year, 548,452 people died of the flu in America.
- No one can rule out the possibility that the Great Swine Flu epidemic might once again rear its head.
- If you look around you on a bus or in a park or cafe or any crowded place, most of the people you see are very probably relatives. When someone boasts to you that he is descended from William the Conquerer or the Mayflower Pilgrims, you should answer at once: “Me, too!” In the most literal and fundamental sense we are all family.
- To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.
- We have arrived at this position of eminence in a stunningly short time. Behaviorally modern human beings - that is, people who can speak and make art and organize complex activities - have existed for only about 0.0001 percent of Earth’s history. But surviving for even that little while has required a nearly endless string of good fortune.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Bill Bryson is always a delight to me. I learn a LOT. And I adore his dry humor. (The French Imperial Family and their aluminum tableware had me in tears.) love it!!
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Back when I first was looking into trying audiobooks, One of the top recommended authors I saw for his nonfiction was Bill Bryson. The first title that caught my eye was A Short History of Nearly Everything, a book both equal parts science and history as he truly covers "nearly" everything when it comes to the history of our planet, our existence on it and more. Plus, this edition was beautifully narrated by Richard Matthews, whose British accent added lots of charm and accentuated the wry humor Bryson wrote with throughout.
This was a harder listen for me. It might have helped had I borrowed a physical copy to help follow along, but the sheer amount of information and names made multitasking near impossible. I won't lie, there were several times I caught myself dozing off and had to rewind to reacquaint myself with the recent details I've missed. The main fault lies with me, though: I listened to this way too quickly. I didn't expect to finish this before it was due back, but I listened in large chunks and flew through it! I think I'd retain more had I slowly listened over several months instead of less than two weeks! It was like having my entire high school science experience in a week!
While I'm going to forget most of what I listened to, I think the things that stuck out to me most was the human aspects of science and progress throughout. Science was messy! We had eccentric guys like Cavendish and Newton whose brilliance was often not discovered until long later when they finally shared their studies; raging rivalries that surged progress (like with paleontology in the US and the structure of DNA) but lead to rushed findings and miscrediting. I think the passage that covered the Ohio inventor who created the blights that were lead in consumer products and CFC's was fascinating and sad...especially using your wealth to smother investigations into the harm you're causing both the environment and others.
This was also my first older audiobook! It was funny to hear the book disc continuation message all throughout. I do wonder how much science has advanced since its publication (it's over 20 years old now!); Besides the obvious like Pluto's reclassification, what other info has subsequently changed, or what research has greatly advanced since (space, evolution, ocean and underwater research, etc.). All I know is my little brain needs a science break!
This was a harder listen for me. It might have helped had I borrowed a physical copy to help follow along, but the sheer amount of information and names made multitasking near impossible. I won't lie, there were several times I caught myself dozing off and had to rewind to reacquaint myself with the recent details I've missed. The main fault lies with me, though: I listened to this way too quickly. I didn't expect to finish this before it was due back, but I listened in large chunks and flew through it! I think I'd retain more had I slowly listened over several months instead of less than two weeks! It was like having my entire high school science experience in a week!
While I'm going to forget most of what I listened to, I think the things that stuck out to me most was the human aspects of science and progress throughout. Science was messy! We had eccentric guys like Cavendish and Newton whose brilliance was often not discovered until long later when they finally shared their studies; raging rivalries that surged progress (like with paleontology in the US and the structure of DNA) but lead to rushed findings and miscrediting. I think the passage that covered the Ohio inventor who created the blights that were lead in consumer products and CFC's was fascinating and sad...especially using your wealth to smother investigations into the harm you're causing both the environment and others.
This was also my first older audiobook! It was funny to hear the book disc continuation message all throughout. I do wonder how much science has advanced since its publication (it's over 20 years old now!); Besides the obvious like Pluto's reclassification, what other info has subsequently changed, or what research has greatly advanced since (space, evolution, ocean and underwater research, etc.). All I know is my little brain needs a science break!
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Back when I first was looking into trying audiobooks, One of the top recommended authors I saw for his nonfiction was Bill Bryson. The first title that caught my eye was A Short History of Nearly Everything, a book both equal parts science and history as he truly covers "nearly" everything when it comes to the history of our planet, our existence on it and more. Plus, this edition was beautifully narrated by Richard Matthews, whose British accent added lots of charm and accentuated the wry humor Bryson wrote with throughout.
This was a harder listen for me. It might have helped had I borrowed a physical copy to help follow along, but the sheer amount of information and names made multitasking near impossible. I won't lie, there were several times I caught myself dozing off and had to rewind to reacquaint myself with the recent details I've missed. The main fault lies with me, though: I listened to this way too quickly. I didn't expect to finish this before it was due back, but I listened in large chunks and flew through it! I think I'd retain more had I slowly listened over several months instead of less than two weeks! It was like having my entire high school science experience in a week!
While I'm going to forget most of what I listened to, I think the things that stuck out to me most was the human aspects of science and progress throughout. Science was messy! We had eccentric guys like Cavendish and Newton whose brilliance was often not discovered until long later when they finally shared their studies; raging rivalries that surged progress (like with paleontology in the US and the structure of DNA) but lead to rushed findings and miscrediting. I think the passage that covered the Ohio inventor who created the blights that were lead in consumer products and CFC's was fascinating and sad...especially using your wealth to smother investigations into the harm you're causing both the environment and others.
This was also my first older audiobook! It was funny to hear the book disc continuation message all throughout. I do wonder how much science has advanced since its publication (it's over 20 years old now!); Besides the obvious like Pluto's reclassification, what other info has subsequently changed, or what research has greatly advanced since (space, evolution, ocean and underwater research, etc.). All I know is my little brain needs a science break!
This was a harder listen for me. It might have helped had I borrowed a physical copy to help follow along, but the sheer amount of information and names made multitasking near impossible. I won't lie, there were several times I caught myself dozing off and had to rewind to reacquaint myself with the recent details I've missed. The main fault lies with me, though: I listened to this way too quickly. I didn't expect to finish this before it was due back, but I listened in large chunks and flew through it! I think I'd retain more had I slowly listened over several months instead of less than two weeks! It was like having my entire high school science experience in a week!
While I'm going to forget most of what I listened to, I think the things that stuck out to me most was the human aspects of science and progress throughout. Science was messy! We had eccentric guys like Cavendish and Newton whose brilliance was often not discovered until long later when they finally shared their studies; raging rivalries that surged progress (like with paleontology in the US and the structure of DNA) but lead to rushed findings and miscrediting. I think the passage that covered the Ohio inventor who created the blights that were lead in consumer products and CFC's was fascinating and sad...especially using your wealth to smother investigations into the harm you're causing both the environment and others.
This was also my first older audiobook! It was funny to hear the book disc continuation message all throughout. I do wonder how much science has advanced since its publication (it's over 20 years old now!); Besides the obvious like Pluto's reclassification, what other info has subsequently changed, or what research has greatly advanced since (space, evolution, ocean and underwater research, etc.). All I know is my little brain needs a science break!
i really enjoyed this book, although it filled me with an overwhelming sense of despair. that could just be the weather here.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I found this book hard to read. There were a few tidbits that were interesting, but I can't really remember any of them now. I think this book is much longer than it needs to be, the few tidbits have a loooooot of filler in between them. 99% of the book was very dry.