A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson manages to make any subject he cares to write about interesting, and I'll happily follow him wherever his mind leads us. This time Bryson decided to write about "nearly everything." His definition of "nearly everything" is the scientific history of the universe (especially our planet) and the history of scientific discovery.

If that sounds like an awful lot for one book to hold, you're right, but Bryson is very good at picking out the most interesting bits. His minibiographies on the lives of scientists are great ways to feel the pulse of different eras, and his adjective-laden descriptions of potential cataclysmic fates for our planet gave me the spooks like no horror movie I've seen. Link