I just finished Bill Bryson’s A Short History Of Nearly Everything at the weekend and I enjoyed it immensely. In the words of a varnish commercial “it does exactly what it says on the tin”. Starting with the question of how the universe formed, and finishing with fossils of ancient man, this book is a meandering stroll through scientific history. The tale details both our knowledge of the journey so far as we know it, and the people who discovered that knowledge on our behalf. The whole thing is told in Bryson’s usual semi-irreverent style and while I knew a fair bit of the story already, his slant on it made it an enjoyable read, with never an equation in sight. Tom owns the copy I read, but it’s so good that I’m going to buy my own copy.