Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller; but even when he stays safely at home he cant contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there; being nothing at all; to here; being us. Bill Brysons challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us; like geology; chemistry and particle physics; and see if there isnt some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. the ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space; A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century; and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.