A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a huge Bill Bryson fan, reading probably 2 of his books to 1 of any other non-fiction author, so take that into consideration, but I loved this. An ambitious enterprise, I think it works precisely because of the style of the author; good research well-summarized and outlined and delivered with salient insights in a dry sense of humor.
If you don’t like his other things, you’ll dislike this for all of the same reasons, though the only frequent quibble I read about Bryson is that he portrays himself as an expert on subjects for which he is but an amateur. I frankly don’t read him that way; my take is that he’s a simple observer of life with a genuine interest in a host of subjects, just as many of us are. I appreciate an author who finds the world an fascinating place and sets out to communicate those things they find fascinating.
There are always more learned experts on any subject and there are always more thorough writings on any topic, but I still have a great regard for his ability to take in a ton of information and distill it into a thoughtful and fun tale.