E-audiobook
A short history of nearly everything [electronic resource] / Bill Bryson.
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant. Even the most pointy-headed, obscure scientist succumbs to the affable Bryson's good nature, and reveals how he or she figures things out. Showing us how scientists get from observations to ideas and theories is Bryson's aim, and he succeeds brilliantly. It is an adventure of the mind, as exciting as any of Bryson's terrestrial journeys.
Détails de la notice
- ISBN : 9780739353202 (sound recording : OverDrive Audio Book)
- ISBN : 0739353209 (sound recording : OverDrive Audio Book)
- Éditeur : [Santa Ana, Calif.] : Books on Tape, 2003.
Descriptions du contenu
- Note générale :
- Downloadable audio file.Title from: Title details screen.Unabridged.Duration: 18:19:24.
- Note de dépouillement structurée :
- Lost in the cosmos: How to build a universe; Welcome to the solar system; Reverend Evans's universe -- Size of the earth: Measure of things; Stone-breakers; Science red in tooth and claw; Elemental matters -- New age dawns: Einstein's universe; Mighty atom; Getting the lead out; Muster Mark's quarks; Earth moves -- Dangerous planet: Bang!; Fire below; Dangerous beauty -- Life itself: Lonely planet; Into the troposphere; Bounding main; Rise of life; Small world; Life goes on; Good-bye to all that; Richness of being; Cells; Darwin's singular notion -- Road to us: Ice time; Mysterious biped; Restless ape; Good-bye.
- Note sur les participants ou les interprètes :
- Read by Richard Matthews.
- Note sur les particularités du système :
- Requires OverDrive Media ConsoleRequires OverDrive Media Console (file size: 263380 KB).Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Chercher des documents connexes par sujet
- Sujet :
- Science > Popular works.
- Genre :
- DOWNLOADABLE AUDIOBOOK.
Audiobooks.
Autres formats et éditions
Ressources électroniques
- AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2003 October/November
From the Big Bang to the ascent of man, author Bryson has condensed the history of science into 15 valuable hours, using an entertaining style that neither demeans a scientist nor overwhelms the layperson. Bryson documents his up-to-date sources and shows surprising scholastic rigor for a nonscientist. The British narrator (although the author is American) never misses on any of the thousands of scientific terms. However, he accentuates the last word of every phrase or sentence by dropping his voice in a drawn-out slur that to American ears may sound disparaging or snobbish--a noticeable incongruence with Bryson's lighthearted scientific "audio primer" of fresh old thoughts. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine - AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2003 August/September
In his first major work in three years, Bryson takes on, well, everything. From the components of the atom to the size of the universe to the age of the Earth, Bryson describes the history behind scientific discovery. Sometimes mystified, often admiring, Bryson regales listeners with the follies and feats in science. It's amazing how much we know and how we found it out. It's astounding, however, how much we have yet to learn. Listeners may have to work a bit harder in this departure from Bryson's usual travel writing. His easy pace and sincere delivery, however, make names, dates, and concepts digestible. It's a pleasure to hear Bryson's voice, like that of an old friend, remind us how incredible existence is. Not to be missed. J.M.P. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - # 2 April 2003
Confessing to an aversion to science dating to his 1950s school days, Bryson here writes for those of like mind, perhaps out of guilt about his lack of literacy on the subject. Bryson reports he has been doing penance by reading popular-science literature published in the past decade or two, and buttonholing a few science authors, such as Richard Fortey (Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution, 2000). The authors Bryson talks to are invariably enthusiasts who, despite their eminence, never look on his questions as silly but, rather, view them as welcome indicators of interest and curiosity. Making science less intimidating is Bryson's essential selling point as he explores an atom; a cell; light; the age and fate of the earth; the origin of human beings. Bryson's organization is historical and his prose heavy on humanizing anecdotes about the pioneers of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, evolution and paleontology, or cosmology. To those acquainted with the popular-science writing Bryson has digested, his repackaging is a trip down memory lane, but to his fellow science-phobes, Bryson' s tour has the same eye-opening quality to wonder and amazement as his wildly popular travelogues. ((Reviewed April 15, 2003)) Copyright 2003 Booklist Reviews - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews - Audio And Video Online Reviews 1991-2018
Having reached adulthood with scarcely any understanding of science, Bryson attempts to learn basic and essential scientific knowledgeâas recounted in his latest nonfiction. His quest takes him from learning about the origin of the universe to studying the nature and structure of the proton, paying heed and homage to researchers and theorists whose discoveries and analyses revealed the nature of the physical world. Matthews' British-accented reading reflects the wit, wonder, and enjoyment of Bryson's book. What makes his reading so outstanding is that he conveys a strong sense of his own interest in the subject. He seems to relish the entertaining and informative text, filled with metaphors and anecdotes. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews. - Criticas Online Reviews : Criticas Reviews 2007 September
While this book doesn't cover "nearly everything," it does a fantastic job of tackling certain topics: biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Writing with wit and charm, Brysonâ¦takes us on a scientific odyssey from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. Reflecting his gift for making science comprehensible yet fun, he tells the story of the discoveries and the people that have shaped our understanding of the universe. ⦠Although Bryson clearly intends this book for general readers, subject specialists will also enjoy his wry takes. The 30 chapters are divided among seven scientific topics. There are useful footnotes, as well as chapter notes and a bibliography. [LJ 5/15/03] Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2003 April #1
Bryson (I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999, etc.), a man who knows how to track down an explanation and make it confess, asks the hard questions of science--e.g., how did things get to be the way they are?--and, when possible, provides answers.As he once went about making English intelligible, Bryson now attempts the same with the great moments of science, both the ideas themselves and their genesis, to resounding success. Piqued by his own ignorance on these matters, he's egged on even more so by the people who've figured out--or think they've figured out--such things as what is in the center of the Earth. So he goes exploring, in the library and in company with scientists at work today, to get a grip on a range of topics from subatomic particles to cosmology. The aim is to deliver reports on these subjects in terms anyone can understand, and for the most part, it works. The most difficult is the nonintuitive material--time as part of space, say, or proteins inventing themselves spontaneously, without direction--and the quantum leaps unusual minds have made: as J.B.S. Haldane once put it, "The universe is not only queerer than we suppose; it is queerer than we can suppose." Mostly, though, Bryson renders clear the evolution of continental drift, atomic structure, singularity, the extinction of the dinosaur, and a mighty host of other subjects in self-contained chapters that can be taken at a bite, rather than read wholesale. He delivers the human-interest angle on the scientists, and he keeps the reader laughing and willing to forge ahead, even over their heads: the human body, for instance, harboring enough energy "to explode with the force of thirty very large hydrogen bombs, assuming you knew how to liberate it and really wished to make a point."Loads of good explaining, with reminders, time and again, of how much remains unknown, neatly putting the death of science into perspective. Copyright Kirkus 2003 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2003 December #1
Bryson is one of the wittiest, most talented writers we have today. His travel books on England, the United States, and Australia are classics and will keep readers in stitches with his special talent-his gift!-for storytelling. But now he offers us this glimpse into scientific areas he admits he didn't understand as a student and tries to make palatable for his loyal listeners. Geology, astronomy, quantum mechanics, vulcanology, plate tectonics-if it weren't for Bryson's outstanding skills as a satirist and as a wry commentator on today's society, most listeners would have gone screaming into the night believing they were trapped in some hellish replay of college courses they flunked the first time around. Even though it's a pleasure to hear the author's comments on the petty rivalries of scientists and how many things were discovered almost by accident (this CD version is energized by an outstanding narration by Richard Matthews, who reads Bryson's words with wry British humor), we are still talking about subjects few people understand. Bryson's obvious success at self-education in the various scientific areas he discusses is to be applauded, but quantum mechanics is still quantum mechanics, no matter how many zingers he throws at squabbling scientists and long-held ridiculous theories. Recommended with the caveat that much of this book is a stretch to get through and only Bryson's wit takes us to the end, panting and gasping all the way.-Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., Lompoc, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2003 January #1
Working with noteworthy scientists, Bryson tracks our history from the big bang to the rise of civilization. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2003 May #2
While this book doesn't cover "nearly everything," it does a fantastic job of tackling certain topics: biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Writing with wit and charm, Bryson, who has hiked the Appalachian Trail (A Walk in the Woods) and traveled around Australia (In a Sunburned Country), now takes us on a scientific odyssey from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. Reflecting his gift for making science comprehensible yet fun, he tells the story of the discoveries and the people that have shaped our understanding of the universe. Along the way, we meet some fascinating and eccentric scientists. Although Bryson clearly intends this book for general readers, subject specialists will also enjoy his wry takes. The 30 chapters are divided among seven scientific topics, and this reviewer found himself reading chapters out of order, selecting topics of particular interest. There are useful footnotes, as well as chapter notes and a bibliography. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. (Index not seen.) [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/03.]-James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib, Chicago Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2003 April #1
As the title suggests, bestselling author Bryson (In a Sunburned Country) sets out to put his irrepressible stamp on all things under the sun. As he states at the outset, this is a book about life, the universe and everything, from the Big Bang to the ascendancy of Homo sapiens. "This is a book about how it happened," the author writes. "In particular how we went from there being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us, and also what happened in between and since." What follows is a brick of a volume summarizing moments both great and curious in the history of science, covering already well-trod territory in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, geology, chemistry, physics and so on. Bryson relies on some of the best material in the history of science to have come out in recent years. This is great for Bryson fans, who can encounter this material in its barest essence with the bonus of having it served up in Bryson's distinctive voice. But readers in the field will already have studied this information more in-depth in the originals and may find themselves questioning the point of a breakneck tour of the sciences that contributes nothing novel. Nevertheless, 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 for most readers. First printing 110,000; 11-city author tour. (On sale May 6) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.