Royal Society Science Book Prize Winner

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

Summary

A genial, wide-ranging tour of the sciences for general readers, moving from cosmology and geology to chemistry, evolution, and human prehistory. Bryson, an outsider to science, recounts how researchers across centuries pieced together our picture of the universe, foregrounding their personalities and missteps as well as their discoveries. The book became a model for narrative-driven popular science.

Historical Context & Significance

Bryson, a travel writer, spent years "translating" science into a best-selling narrative that became the prize's most famous winner.