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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
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Editor reviews
Summary
Featuring a special introduction written for the audiobook edition and read by the author
A Radio 4 Book Club Selection.
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's fascinating and humorous quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
Critic reviews
"Stylish [and] stunningly accurate prose....Brims with strange and amazing facts...destined to become a modern classic of science writing." ( The New York Times)
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What listeners say about A Short History of Nearly Everything
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane
- 07-07-17
I feel much more knowledgeable after reading this
Very good book – I listened to it while painting our house. A little slow to get started but really enjoyable overall. Bill Bryson started by discussing atoms and molecules and slowly progresses by talking about space and then animal and human history. The book demonstrates how many clever scientists have helped shape our knowledge of the world. I feel much smarter after listening to this!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Action man
- 02-09-17
Good, but heavy going at times
Excellent narration, leave plenty of time though as this is a long book! Vast range of topics means some are naturally more interesting than others
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mr r woods
- 01-01-16
Perfect audio book
This is the perfect audio book, it's a constant stream of fascinating information that can be listened too in 20 minute chunks, or several hour sittings, and it makes no difference where you start and finish, or even how long the intervals. The subject matter is well documented so I shall not add much other than to say it's one of the most enlightening reads I have had for many a long year.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Osborne
- 31-03-16
Be interesting for life
Amazingly enjoyable and full of more information than I can remember but I genuinely feel educated about almost everything now. Great narration too, really carried Bryson's style well
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-02-20
Fascinating and amusing!
Bryson does not need to sacrifice brilliance and humour for the sake of being informative.
Roberts' delivery is captivating.
Satisfied.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel
- 29-05-10
Interesting and Enjoyable
Packed full of fascinating information about both the science and the people involved, one of the few books I've listened to again and again.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- MR
- 23-12-12
Fascinating and humorous
A Short History of Nearly Everything is fascinating whistle stop tour of well, nearly everything! From atoms to life and all the important advances across every discipline this audio book will give the listener a fascinating insight into all the components that made and continue to make life possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and intend to listen to it again. This audio book both entertains and educates, I highly recommend it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Caspar Norris
- 27-02-15
A heavy read
A very interesting and fact-laden book. Reasonably well narrated by William Roberts, although his foreign accents are something to be laughed at. Do I remember any of the details of the book? No.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Gabble
- 10-09-11
If Carlsberg Wrote Books........,
If Carlsberg Wrote Books........
....this is probably the best nonfiction book I have ever read. I couldn't fault it, seriously. I bought and read the paperback, loved every meandering fact that is put across with such style, humour and accessibility. It's neither too heavy nor too light; it's just the right tone to escape in a panorama of sheer unadulterated delight. If aliens landed and wished to learn about this planet and the parasites who have tamed its weary husk, then this should without doubt provide all the tourist information they'd require.
...anyway, I am not going to remark at all on the rich detail contained within this perfect book. It does what it says on the tin (hey I have managed to get two references to advertisements into this piece) and describes our whole history from nothingness Don't you just wish that our children were being schooled by someone with the mind and spirit of Bill Bryson, someone who can take any subject and through a sequence of crafted words turn it into a genuine masterpiece? This book should be mandatory somewhere along the educational system in this country. I mean who would have thought that mosses could be so fascinating.
....it was early last year that I listened to Bill's version, so why do I comment now? That version had been unabridged at only five hours long or so, but this more than trebles those hours - and I see it is narrated by William Roberts whose tones I recall took me so skilfully through the emotional journey of `A Walk in the Woods', another classic of Bill's. As soon as I spotted that here I knew it was time to spoil my ears with the book in its entirety once again. I'm looking forward to the time I'll spend in his company listening to Bill Bryson's edifying words.
Mr Bryson, you should be so proud. I hope you are.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 15-09-09
Great read
An enjoyable read about....... well nearly everything! Some very factual but accurate attention to detail in this volume for anyone who wishes to increase their personal knowledge base. As someone with a science/medical background this book served up some old memories as well as clearly explaining subject matters I'd struggled with as a student.
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