Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • A Short History of Nearly Everything

  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: William Roberts
  • Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (13,594 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
A Short History of Nearly Everything cover art

A Short History of Nearly Everything

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: William Roberts
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

A History of the World cover art
Made in America cover art
Cosmos cover art
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry cover art
The Lost Continent cover art
48 Laws of Power cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art
The Theory of Evolution: A History of Controversy cover art
A Most Improbable Journey cover art
A Brief History of Creation cover art
The Fabric of the Cosmos cover art
When Humans Nearly Vanished cover art
The Clockwork Universe cover art
Welcome to the Universe cover art
It's Not Rocket Science cover art
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! cover art

Editor reviews

In his latest release, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson compounds the story of human existence, or rather what is known of it so far, into one incredible audiobook expertly narrated by American voice performer William Roberts. Be entertained by even the most complex of discoveries, all broken down in a way that makes them understandable and enlightening. Covering innumerable topics of human achievements, you will be tremendously inspired by the significance these discoveries have had on life as we know it today. Available now from Audible.

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.

©2003 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"To read Bryson is to travel with a memoirist gifted with wry observation and keen insight that shed new light on things we mistake for commonplace. To accompany the author as he travels with the likes of Charles Darwin on the Beagle, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton is a trip worth taking." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Stylish [and] stunningly accurate prose....Brims with strange and amazing facts...destined to become a modern classic of science writing." ( The New York Times)

What listeners say about A Short History of Nearly Everything

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,844
  • 4 Stars
    2,673
  • 3 Stars
    740
  • 2 Stars
    171
  • 1 Stars
    166
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8,048
  • 4 Stars
    2,021
  • 3 Stars
    507
  • 2 Stars
    122
  • 1 Stars
    136
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,904
  • 4 Stars
    2,045
  • 3 Stars
    559
  • 2 Stars
    119
  • 1 Stars
    108

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A short Review of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson is best known for writing fun travelogues of his journeys around the world and, here, he turns the same sense of humour and writing style to this brief walk through the history of science.

Split in fairly broad swathes by subject, he addresses what we know, what we suspect and what we thought we knew but now figure we got wrong. This is interspaced with tales of the people behind the discoveries (many oddballs and eccentrics).

This is by no means complete, but there is a surprisingly large amount covered including cosmology, geology, biology and lots of other things you hated at school because they weren't presented this clearly or interestingly.

The only downside to the audiobook comes when discussing some numbers where the sheer immensity gets lost a bit without seeing it written down but it's the most minor of quibbles for a truly special text introducing reasonable intelligent science to the reasonably intelligent person.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

216 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

This book has made me a nerd...

I am someone who listens to Lee Child's and pretended to be Jack Reacher when my family wasn't watching. I really don't know why I chose to download it, science ain't my thing! Or should I say wasn't, my friends think I've gone mad. Conversations are now punctuated by "did you know..." Or "I've just discovered...."



What's happened to me? The simple pleasures of Jack Reacher bashing up baddies just isn't enough any more. So be warned this book is a virus that will grip you, cause you to delay reaching your destination, and probably make you want to befriend bacteria. Don't get me started on how far things are and how small we must be....



Health warning: the genius and wonderful engaging pace of this book will leave you wanting more even after the hours and hours it leaves you hiding in a quiet spot gripped by its wonder. Use wisely and with caution.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

97 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Long listen, needs concentration!

I decided to give this a go on audiobook, as the length of the actual book put me off. I'm glad I did. If you are expecting 'History' in the traditional sense here, be warned - Bryson's book covers 'History' in terms of the creation of the world, the universe and everything, and is in fact far more concerned with physics and chemistry.

Very interesting in parts, although I have to be honest and say big chunks went over my head - it's the sort of listen that you can tune in and out of as you wish. Be warned though - it's very very very long, so you will need determination to get through it all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

97 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A great contribution

I listened to it in the car twice, my sons read it. I bought four copies of the book to give away to friends. ALL found it incredibly insightful and well written. So informative about important scientific developments. The author reads it perfectly. Very nice to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

84 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Knowledge enough to blow your mind

You certainly gets your monies worth with this book, as you'll need to listen to it over and over to get to grips with all the information contained. Having said that, it's easy listening and the narrator is easy on your ears.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrific

I was gripped by this from beginning to end. Bryson provides an overview of modern science, tracing the story of various disciplines. What stands out is the way that he makes each narrative strand fascinating in its own right, while weaving them into a bigger picture. I loved the way that he provides a historical perspective on scientific endeavour. He's really good at explaining where various ideas came from and why they seemed radical in their day. I'm sure that if you're a serious scientist then Bryson is just glossing the surface. But as an interested non-scientist I found that this explained and illuminated a lot of ideas I had previously found vague and confusing. Fascinating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An outstanding read

This book is a genuine tour de force which I have listened to now many times, and will listen to again, and again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can't stand the narrator

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I love Bill Bryson, but cannot abide William Robert's jaunty, sing-song delivery.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I listened to two or three minutes and switched it off, never to listen again.

How could the performance have been better?

I have a large number of Bill Bryson audiobooks and return to them again and again; Home, America, A walk in the Woods, The Thunderbolt Kid, but all read, exactly as they should be, by Bill Bryson himself.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

For me, William Robert's readings have nothing to redeem them. I so want to listen to this book, but read by Mr. B.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

A Fantastic Book Ruined

A Short History of Nearly Everything was a standout publication, a once in generation masterpiece which everybody should hold a copy of.

Many years ago, I had the audiobook, I listened to it over and over, read by a excellent narrator.

Sadly this version is appalling, the closest it achieves to scientific greatness is a listening experience akin to Stephen Hawkins voice simulator.

William Roberts may be well equipped for children's tales, television voiceovers or impressions of a village idiot, but adding the required weight to volume of this quality he is left exposed and out of his depth.

Sadly the waste of a credit and now I am left to find original copy I so enjoyed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book

This is probably my favourite non-fiction title I have listened to so far. It pretty well delivers on it's titles promise, in that it covers so many subjects, from the origins of the Universe through to recent man's history. There are so many entertaining anecdotes and interesting facts, coming in such high concentration that as soon as it finished, I listened to the whole thing again so I could retain some more of them to amaze other people with!

If schools could capture just a fraction of the interest that this book creates in their classes, rather than rolling out tedious dates and formulas, then I am sure they would find grades would go up. History, Science, Geography, Biology, Astrophysics are but a few of the subjects that are brought to life with real facts delivered in a humourous and informative manner. Excellently narrated and highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful