Cosmic adventure

Discover the fascinating journey of our universe and life on Earth in Bill Bryson's enlightening book.

It was a rather big book: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. At first, I was intimidated. But, let me tell you, it is well worth the ride. He piqued my interest when I read the first few lines of the Introduction. “I am delighted you could make it. Getting here wasn’t easy, I know. In fact, I suspect it was a little rougher than you realise. To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you…”

Huh? What was that, I thought, and continued reading. But then he goes on to explain how you came to be. In Part I: Lost in the Cosmos, he explains how a universe like ours is formed — the Big Bang theory — how the solar system and the universe of Reverend Evans, the world of supernovae came to be.

Part II: The Size of the Earth tells you about the Measure of Things, The Stone Breakers, Science Red in Tooth and Claw and Elemental Matters. Science Red in Tooth and Claw covers an interesting period of the discovery of dinosaurs. In 1787, someone “found an enormous thigh bone sticking out of a stream bank at a place called Woodbury Creek” in New Jersey, the U.S. Nobody knew what it was, and it was believed to belong to a hadrosaur, a large duck-billed dinosaur.

The next part takes you to A New Age where Bryson talks about Einstein’s discoveries, the atom, getting lead out, quarks and the movement of the Earth. Getting Lead Out talks about the ill effects of lead and how it was used by three of America’s largest corporations — General Motors, Du Pont and Standard Oil of New Jersey — and the ill effects that became apparent in the production workers.

Part IV is Dangerous Planet. Bang! It talks about the Manson Effect, seismic activity, meteors and more. In Part V, The Stuff of Life, he explains the oceans and the atmosphere. Finally, Part VI: The Road to Us talks about the Ice Age, Bipeds and the Restless Ape. He ends the book with Goodbye, the dying of many species. He ends by saying “We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a trick we have only just begun to grasp.”