A Book Review – Bill Bryson “A Short History of Almost Everything”

I do not read enough anymore. That bothers me. When we went on a cruise a couple of years ago I read 5 books in 9 days and enjoyed every minute of them. Not just the books themselves but the process of reading. As I contemplate retirement I imagine having time on my hands. Time I used to spend working. Time I used to spend watching TV aimlessly. Plus, I want to keep the brain matter supple and vigorous. Thus I hatch a plan in my mind to read more. We cancel cable, which helps but Yankee games are numerous roadblocks. I need to find something to capture my imagination again. I “waste” 60 minutes each day commuting to and from work now, listening to sports radio and I can feel the IQ points dripping out of my ears. I decide to try some “learning” books – not fiction, something where I can appreciate the information. I find a couple of audio books – Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan. I like space, I like science and these are imagination catchers for sure. I begin with Hawking, mistake one as his stuff though interesting is WAY over my head. I’m struggling with this, fighting the urge for “sports talk all the time” when MillieJupiter tells me about this Bryson guy and how entertaining the book is. It is all that and more!

If ever a book was written that could be considered a text for life as we know it, Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Almost Everything” is it. Beginning with the very instant of the Big Bang that spawned our universe, to our present society, Bryson walks us through the billions of eons with a grace and determination I have not experienced before. He takes very complex scientific thoughts and makes them understandable. For example in just a couple of paragraphs he explains Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to me in such a way as to be better understood than ever in my life. He explains the development of scientific fields like chemistry, geology, paleontology and physics in ways to make the understanding of them fun and interesting. And, along the way he gives a huge helping of the people and personalities of some of the greats, near greats and not so greats in their fields. From people buying specimens and claiming to find them, to the tasting of all manners of creatures for the sake of science, it is in there. Bryson is funny, educational and yet always clear about the things that are important to the discoveries in these widely variant fields.

My favorite parts (and MJ’s too) was the section on the earliest discoveries of man – Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, Java Man, Lucy and all the intermediates in between. I didn’t realize that there dozens of these type discoveries which tell us that many represent lines of humanity that ended without flourishing. Also, as mentioned above, the humanity that Bryson adds to these famous names through his quips and stories and eccentricities (like the anthropologist who liked to do field work in the nude) are help with even the driest of stories.

A couple of final notes. I know a book is good when I start looking to see how much is left to read or listen too, dreading the ending because the book is over. That is the way it was with this book. I did not want it to end. As the final chapter approached I found myself hoping that it would go on. Because of this I have gone out and gotten several of his other books, in the hopes my attention will once more be riveted.

I read this book by listening to it in my car one the way to and from work. I know there is discussion in certain circles as to whether I am reading the book or not. In the end, I will have a better understanding of the world around me, I will have learned a great deal and I would have been entertained in a nice way. What more can one ask from a book.