A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated EditionThis new edition of the acclaimed bestseller is lavishly illustrated to convey, in pictures as in words, Bill Bryson’s exciting, informative journey into the world of science. In A Short History of Nearly Everything, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body, confronts his greatest challenge yet: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. The result is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Now, in this handsome new edition, Bill Bryson’s words are supplemented by full-color artwork that explains in visual terms the concepts and wonder of science, at the same time giving face to the major players in the world of scientific study. Eloquently and entertainingly described, as well as richly illustrated, science has never been more involving or entertaining. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 59
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... tiny particles will uncomplainingly engage in all the billions of deft, co-operative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally under-appreciated state known as existence. Why atoms ...
... tiny particles will uncomplainingly engage in all the billions of deft, co-operative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally under-appreciated state known as existence. Why atoms ...
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... tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result—eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly—in you. This is a book about ...
... tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result—eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly—in you. This is a book about ...
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... tiny, tiny space about an ounce of matter. Excellent. You are ready to start a universe. I'm assuming of course that you wish to build an inflationary universe. If you'd prefer instead to build a more old-fashioned, standard Big Bang ...
... tiny, tiny space about an ounce of matter. Excellent. You are ready to start a universe. I'm assuming of course that you wish to build an inflationary universe. If you'd prefer instead to build a more old-fashioned, standard Big Bang ...
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... tiny bit differently—if gravity were fractionally stronger or weaker, if the expansion had proceeded just a little more slowly or swiftly—then there might never have been stable elements to make you and me and the ground we stand on ...
... tiny bit differently—if gravity were fractionally stronger or weaker, if the expansion had proceeded just a little more slowly or swiftly—then there might never have been stable elements to make you and me and the ground we stand on ...
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... designed to peer at very tiny little pieces of the sky way off in the distance to see a quasar or hunt for black holes or look at a distant galaxy. The only real network of telescopes that scans the Welcome to the Solar System.
... designed to peer at very tiny little pieces of the sky way off in the distance to see a quasar or hunt for black holes or look at a distant galaxy. The only real network of telescopes that scans the Welcome to the Solar System.
Contents
The StoneBreakers | |
Science Red in Tooth and Claw | |
Elemental Matters | |
The Rise of Life | |
Small World | |
Life Goes | |
Goodbye to All That | |
The Richness of Being | |
Cells | |
Darwins Singular Notion | |
The Stuff of Life | |
Einsteins Universe | |
The Mighty Atom | |
Getting the Lead | |
Muster Marks Quarks | |
The Earth Moves | |
Bang | |
The Fire Below | |
Dangerous Beauty | |
Lonely Planet | |
Into the Troposphere | |
The Bounding Main | |
Ice Time | |
The Mysterious Biped | |
The Restless | |
Goodbye | |
DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | |
NOTES | |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | |
ILLUSTRATIONS | |
INDEX | |
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Common terms and phrases
Africa American ancient animals asteroid astronomer atmosphere atoms Australia australopithecines bacteria bacterium became bones called Cambrian carbon Cavendish cells Celsius cent century chemical cloud comet crater creatures Darwin dinosaurs discovered discovery Earth Einstein electron elements event existence extinction fact Fortey fossil galaxies genes genetic Geological geologist GO TO NOTE Gould Haldane happened hominid Homo erectus Hubble hundred ice ages idea kilometres known least living look Lyell measure metres million years ago modern humans molecules Museum named National Natural History Neandertals nearly neutron never no-one Nobel NOTE REFERENCE ocean once organisms oxygen palaeontologist particles perhaps physicist physics planet Pluto produced proteins protons REFERENCE IN TEXT Richard Fortey rocks Sagan scientific scientists solar system space species specimens stars suggested supernova surface T. H. Huxley Tattersall theory things thought thousand tiny trillion trilobites types universe volcano Yellowstone