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zwinning's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting theories and ideas, and very very entertaining. Bill takes an interesting view towards scientific ideas and makes them into stories you actually want to read.
elusorius's review against another edition
4.0
Bill Bryson is an expert at describing complicated subject matters in both an entertaining and an understandable fashion. A really good read for anyone who is and isn't interested in science. Though I personally found some of the subjects uninteresting or dull, Bryson managed to write the chapters that did catch my interest in the most fascinating manner. Highly recommend it, especially if you're interested in its topics.
simplymegy's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
“But the thing is, most of the time bad things dont happen. Rocks dont fall. Earthquakes dont occur. New vents dont suddenly open up. For all the instability, it’s mostly remarkably and amazingly tranquil.”
Bill Bryson’s herculean effort of trying to summarise the history of the universe, solar system, earth, cells, and humans into a 543 page book is nothing short of impressive. I began reading the audiobook version but found it difficult because it was so easy to tune out- there was too much information being fired that less than halfway through, i ditched the audio and switched to the digital version.
Some chapters were really dragging and boring despite Bryson’s effort at humour, but some i found genuinely funny.
“Romans also flavored their wine with lead, which may be part of the reason they are not the force they used to be.”
“The Sun is ninety-three million miles away. To move a couple of thousand feet closer to it is like taking one step closer to a bushfire in Australia when you are standing in Ohio, and expecting to smell smoke.”
“Whatever it was that drew them (ancient humans) to Europe, it wasnt the glorious weather.”
I didn’t particularly enjoy the ones about space. Maybe that’s just me- quantum physics and chemistry just isn’t my thing 😅. I did enjoy the ones about the earth and the origins of life and humans. The penultimate chapter about Sapiens reminded me of Yuval Harari’s one which I found truly insightful.
It’s definitely worth picking up to learn a little bit of everything, then realising that we know practically nothing.
blaineduncan's review against another edition
3.0
This tome is a wealth of fascinating information and is well told, but Bryson sometimes gets bogged down in the history of the scientist rather than the history of the Earth itself.
adrianogelato's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
functionalstoic's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Bill Bryson is such a pleasure. Long & Challenging book, but so informative. I read it to my 3 kids, just a few pages per night for over 2 years
roxyunderscored's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0