News FeedA Short History of Nearly Everything
Date Read: December 3, 2009
Book title: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Author: Bill Bryson
Book Publisher: Broadway Books (2003)
Non-Fiction / 544 pages
A Short History of Nearly Everything was the 19th book I read in 2009.
Why I read A Short History of Nearly Everything:
A friend I met at Taft Camp, Steve Urie, recommended this book to me. He didn’t think I’d read it because the book doesn’t relate to the type of book I usually read. A Short History of Nearly Everything is a book that helps amateurs like me understand more about the world we inhabit and how we came to inhabit this world. Since I was rather ignorant about matters pertaining to science and since I was winding down from my projects for the year, I stuck with the book and educated myself by reading A Short History of Nearly Everything
What I learned from reading A Short History of Nearly Everything:
Bill Bryson is a celebrated writer who is famous for writing about his travels and until a few years before writing A Short History of Nearly Everything, he says that he didn’t know as much at all about science. He’s an excellent student. During those few years, he interviewed scores of scientists from around the world and he researched through countless books in order to help others understand how scientists theorized the formation of the earth, the universe and life itself.
I’m not claiming that reading a single science book gives a full education, but in reading A Short History of Nearly Everything, at least I now know what people mean when they discuss “a quantum leap” or “a quasar” or “a polaris” or “carbon dating”. Bill Bryson’s writing skills made it more enjoyable to develop a surface understanding of these scientific concepts.
How reading A Short History of Nearly Everything will contribute to my success upon release:
My aspirations of building a career in communications require that I broaden my understanding of numerous subjects. I don’t intend to discuss much about the natural or physical sciences, as my area of concentration focuses on human development and achieving optimal performance levels. Yet my work does consider balance, the interconnectivity of all life, and God’s influence. Understanding more about how scientists perceive the origins of the universe, earth and life will help my message.
