Book · 2003
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson asks how anyone actually knows a mass extinction wasn't caused by an asteroid, and answers it one solved mystery at a time.
What does Reddit think of A Short History of Nearly Everything?
Twenty-eight mentions across seven years split almost evenly between r/booksuggestions, r/suggestmeabook, and r/AskScience, and the pattern differs by sub. On AskScience it answers a specific question. The top comment (↑53) opens with the Einstein patent-clerk story to justify recommending it for "how we know what we know" threads; a separate reply (↑20) says the same thing more plainly, and a third (↑17) points to the mass-extinction chapter when someone asks about causes beyond asteroids and volcanoes. On the two general-recommendation subs, it shows up differently: one line inside someone else's numbered list, next to Being Mortal or The Laws of Human Nature, no argument attached. One commenter (↑10) does call it "interesting from the first to last page," and another (↑15) names it a favorite outright. Nobody in this sample disagrees with it. Nobody argues it doesn't deserve the list slot, either.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Science explained through the history of discovery, not just the facts
- · A go-to answer for "how do we actually know that" questions
- · Earth science, extinctions, and cosmology for the science-curious
- · A recurring nonfiction pick inside broader reading lists
Common praise
- + r/AskScience keeps reaching for it specifically when a thread asks how scientists know something, not just what they found (↑53, ↑20).
- + The mass-extinction chapter gets cited by name in threads years apart (↑17).
- + It earns unprompted favorite-book callouts on r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions, not just list placement (↑15, ↑10).
Common criticism
- − Most of its appearances are one line inside someone else's numbered list, sitting next to Being Mortal or The Laws of Human Nature with no case made for it specifically.
- − Nothing in this sample argues with the book or names a weakness, so the record here is thin on dissent rather than genuinely settled.
- − All three subreddits are general recommendation or science-answer spaces; no literary community shows up weighing in on it.
Who it's for
Ask r/AskScience how anyone actually knows an extinction event wasn't caused by a meteor, and this is the book that gets cited back at you (↑17, ↑20). It works as an answer to a specific question more than a front-to-back science survey; the Einstein patent-office anecdote (↑53) is the detail that gets repeated, not the throughline. Building a list for someone who wants variety or lost a parent? r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions slot it in alongside Being Mortal or The Laws of Human Nature without much comment. Buy it expecting curiosity fuel, not a plot.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for A Short History of Nearly Everything?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“"In 1905 a Swiss patent examiner 3rd class, a request to be promoted to patent examiner 2nd class recently being refused, wrote three papers. The first on Brownian motion proved the existence of atoms which up until that point had been very much in doubt. The second on the photoelectric effect won a…
“Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything
“For those interested in the "How we know what we know" I really enjoyed the book A Short History of Nearly Everything. It is full of this kind of stuff
“Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. One of my favourite books!
“A Short History of Nearly Everything is interesting from the first to last page.
“Well, there's the ever-popular, "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson which is a great read. It's not specific to a particular period in history, but it definitely has interesting history facts. And Brys…
“Bill Bryson has a sorta entertaining book called "A short history of nearly everything". He covers a lot of science backstory stuff that's intertwined together but one of the main threads follows the guy who discovered how to do the nuclear isotope dating process for getting the age of the earth, a…
“Non-fiction doesn't necessarily have to be boring or pedantic, here are a few examples: * Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari * [A Short History of Nearly Everything](
“I highly recommend “A short history of nearly everything” by Bill Bryson. In this book he asks the same question and many more about our universe and earth and how we learned what we know now, with lots of interesting anecdotes.
“Sure, one book I can recommend is "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. It gives a very broad overview of the history of the universe and the Earth, as well as how we came to know these things, including lots of these sorts of scientific missteps along the way.
“The first book that came to mind is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. (Goodreads link). I'm a trained biologist, and this book, written for the interested lay-person, is really a great read. Will com…
“Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" ticks a few of your boxes.
““A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson Goodreads Page It is the funniest and most engaging science book you’ll ever read. This is the one you want, I promise you.
“Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything would be a great follow up. He tackles some fascinating topics and writes in layman's terms. Definitely a 10/10 read!
“>A Walk in the Woods Wow, didn't know he wrote this. I have read **A Short History of Nearly Everything** and loved it. Will surely add this one to the list!
Convinced? Pick up A Short History of Nearly Everything
What else does r/booksuggestions read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Guides featuring A Short History of Nearly Everything
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
A Short History of Nearly Everything — frequently asked
What does Reddit actually say about A Short History of Nearly Everything?+
Mostly agreement, thinly spread. r/AskScience treats it as the standard answer when a thread asks how scientists actually know something, citing the Einstein patent-clerk story (↑53) and the mass-extinction chapter (↑17). On r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions it shows up inside other people's reading lists rather than as its own recommendation, though one commenter (↑15) calls it a straightforward favorite. Nothing in this sample pushes back.
Is A Short History of Nearly Everything the right book for 'how do we know that' questions?+
Yes, per r/AskScience specifically. The top comment in this sample (↑53) opens with the Einstein patent-office story to make exactly that case, and a separate reply (↑17) points to the mass-extinction chapter for the same reason. That's the sub's consistent use case for the book: not general science literacy, but the specific question of how something got found out.
Is A Short History of Nearly Everything just filler on other people's reading lists?+
Often, yes. Several of the r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions mentions in this sample place it as one line inside someone else's numbered list, alongside Being Mortal or The Laws of Human Nature, with no case made for it individually. It isn't only that, though: one commenter (↑15) calls it a straightforward favorite, and another (↑10) says it's interesting from cover to cover.
Should I read A Short History of Nearly Everything if I want a plot, not just science trivia?+
No. Nothing in this sample treats it as narrative-driven fiction; every citation, from r/AskScience's Einstein anecdote (↑53) to the r/suggestmeabook list mentions, treats it as answer-shaped nonfiction, a resource for a specific fact or question rather than a through-story. Come for curiosity about how something was discovered, not for characters or plot.