A Short History of Nearly Everything is an ambitious title for any author. Bill Bryson proposes to sum up the natural history of planet earth, and all of its contents,  in this work of 624 pages. Bryson has spent a career honing his skills of observation and exercises those skills with excellence moving from the cosmos, planet earth, atomic (and sub-atomic) sciences, evolutionary theory, and the history of homo sapien. Each chapter is well researched and tells the stories of the men and women behind the science. The wide scope of Bryson's work is astounding. Chapters dive deeply into matters of geology, astronomy, chemistry, and botany to name a few. He describes each discovery and theory with clarity and personality. I felt like he could have written an entire book out of any one part of A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I would recommend reading this book. It stretched me and educated me. It stretched me because I was reading over my head in terms of subject matter. As a Christian I believe in creation which stands in contrast to some of the theories associated with evolutionary science. But I was educated as well. Bryson's work contains a great deal of truth that many God fearing men and women of science have discovered over the past hundreds and thousands of years. I believe that all truth is God's truth and fits into his master design for all of creation. The overall impression that this book gave me was not one of skepticism or denial, but rather, one of awe. I would invite you to read something like this and allow what you believe to be challenged, strengthened, and developed as well.