A Short History of Nearly Everything

This is a great new book from Bill Bryson. Moving away from his regular haunt of travel writing layered with irony, he's moved onto the altogether far more complex task - explaining pretty much how the universe works, how the earth works, how civilisation came about and all points in between.

Bryson won the Aventis science award for this book, and rightly so, since it's a labour of love and immensely readable. Even though I suspect that many people won't finish this book, I'd be amazed if there's anybody who didn't come away learning something new.

There are sections that enthrall more than others. Depending on your own interests, sections on fossil hunting or the nature of cells may not hold you as strongly as other parts of the book. But whenever your interest may start to lag, he introduces new characters and the story may suddenly take a different turn.

Thoroughly recommended!