A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

Another fabulous audiobook! This time read by the author himself, which made it all the more enjoyable. I picked this audiobook up while I was making the journey to work on my own for a few weeks and was a little bored of my ipod collection. Sadly this is an abridged audiobook, but that just means I have the excuse to read the paper copy too!

A Short History of Nearly Everything is a slight exaggeration of course, but a very entertaining and insightful read. From the beginnings of life, to modern man, through all the quirks of scientists and explorers, this is more a book of scientific discoveries than a book of science itself. But that takes nothing away from the book, and Bryson embues his writing with such enthusiasm and barely contained wonder, which is so contagious for the listener. I defy anyone to read/listen to this book and not feel the need to learn and research more into the topics they found particularly fascinating. I even learned little tidbits about things that I believed myself to be thoroughly well versed in!

Don't expect to come away from this book expecting to learn and remember everything. It is not a comprehensive history, but a taster to whet the appetite, which hopefully you will pursue and indulge in. Excellent writing and very well read by the author!