Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!

What on earth is Bill Bryson doing writing a book of popular science--A Short History of Almost Everything? Largely, it appears, because this inquisitive, much-travelled writer realised, while flying over the Pacific, that he was entirely ignorant of the processes that created, populated and continue to maintain the vast body of water beneath him.

In fact, it dawned on him that "I didn't know the first thing about the only planet I was ever going to live on". The questions multiplied: What is a quark? How can anybody know how much the Earth weighs? How can astrophysicists (or whoever) claim to describe what happened in the first gazillionth of a nanosecond after the Big Bang? Why can't earthquakes be predicted? What makes evolution more plausible than any other theory? In the end, all these boiled down to a single question--how do scientists do science? To this subject Bryson devoted three years of his life, reading books and journals and pestering the people who know (or at least argue about it); and we non-scientists should be pretty grateful to him for passing his findings on to us.

Broadly, his investigations deal with seven topics, all of enormous interest and significance: the origins of the universe; the gradual historical discovery of the size and age of the earth (and the beginnings of the awesome notion of deep time); relativity and quantum theory; the present and future threats to life and the planet; the origins and history of life (dinosaurs, mass extinctions and all); and the evolution of man. Within each of these, he looks at the history of the subject, its development into a modern discipline and the frameworks of theory that now support it. This is a pretty broad brief (life, the universe and everything, in fact), and it's a mark of Bryson's skill that he is able to carve a clear path through the thickets of theory and controversy that infest all these disciplines, all the while maintaining a cracking pace and a fairly judicious tone without obvious longueurs or signs of haste. Even readers fairly familiar with some or all of these areas of discourse are likely to learn from A Short History. If not, they will at least be amused--the tone throughout is agreeable, mingling genuine awe with a mild facetiousness that often rises to wit.

One compelling theme that appears again and again is the utter unpredictability of the universe, despite all that we think we know about it. Nervous page-turners may care to omit the sensational chapters on the possible ways in which it all might end in disaster--Bryson enumerates with cheerful relish the kind of event that makes you want to climb under the bedclothes: undetectable asteroid colliding with the earth; superheated magma chamber erupting in your back garden; ebola carrier getting off a plane in London or New York; the HIV virus mutating to prevent its destruction in the mosquito's digestive system. Indeed, the chief theme of this sprightly book is the miraculous unlikeliness, in a universe ruled by randomness, of stability and equilibrium--of which one result is ourselves and the complex, fragile planet we inhabit. --Robin Davidson

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!



A great read but dont confuse it with the childrens version!, 03 Nov 2008
I read this book whilst on a round the world trip and it was a great companion, although it does take some reading!
I ordered a copy from Amazon for my father in law as a christmas present, but thought i would get the hardback version called 'a really short history of nearly everything'... a note of caution, this is the childrens much abridged and illustrated version and not the same as the paperback. i have decided to keep this however for my 10 yr old god son as this book is fascinating for all ages and it is great that the kids can read it too!


Overrated, 23 Sep 2008
I am skeptical of journalists or writers who think they can write a book about anything. Yeah sure they've a great gift for writing but that doesn't mean they have a great gift for understanding and explaining what it is they are writing about.

I really can't fathom that in a book which attempts to cover most of science, the scientific method itself isn't even explained. This means the mechanism which establishes science as most objective and reliable paradigm we have for establishing objective truth about the universe is omitted. Now, there's a countless amount of facts, dates, figures and 'imagine this' type stuff all there with the assumed intent of making a reader go wow. All very well, some of it will fuse the imagination, but let's not forget that the scientific method is what defines science. Without it, we have no way of differentiating between science and psuedo-science, no way of differentiating the reliability of the big bang theory and crystal healers.

Too many times, instead of explaining principles and concepts, Bryson opts for facts about dates. It really doesn't matter if it was 1915, 1916, or 1917 when Einstein published his theory on general relativity what matters is what it is saying, the concepts that underpin it and why we can be confident it's correct. In this regard, Byrson comes up well short. Someone like Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, or just about anyone with scientific training does a much better job.

Sometimes he's just way off. For example, when he discusses the theory of evolution which is just as sound as the theory of gravity in terms of the scientific method, since both are testifiable, falsifiable, have huge amounts of evidence (one billion+ fossils and infinite amount of DNA evidence), been through the same peer reviewing processes etc. So, in scientific terms doubting evolution is like doubting gravity.

His misunderstanding insinutates that the lack of fossils found in human evolution may cast doubt on the theory. He fails to point out the probability of fossilation is only about 1 / million and the probability of finding one about the same, which by simple mathematics make every fossil find of our ancestors species a miracle in statistical terms? He also fails to include that the DNA evidence is conclusive and all of it is consistent with evolution through natural selection. DNA vindicated Darwin.

If you want a pop Science book so that you can understand science just skip this book. Science is a very broad area now. Experts in Physics are not experts in Biology. Experts in Biology are not experts in Physics. A writer with no scientific expertise is certainly not an expert in anything scientific. If you really want to understand science, pick a branch of science and then pick the appropriate expert. Someone like Feymen for Physics, Dawkins for Biology or Hawking for the Universe.

Before you do any of that, make sure you understand the scientific method as described by Karl Popper. This is the framework that underpins all science and what makes science an exceptionally reliable paradigm. It's why planes fly and why we know the origins of all species on our planet.

If you couldn't give a monkeys about understanding and just want lots of scientific trivial, dates and names, well then, sadly this book could be a runner.


Essential introduction to science!, 23 Sep 2008
This book is not only highy educational, but very entertaining, and Bryson's writting style makes it fun, and it keeps you craving for more.
If would be a good idea to make this read a compulsory High School one, to excite the curiosity and the thirst for knowledge of our students, considering the fact that the more we know, the more we love.
It is a nearly complete and thorough overview on the main principles of science. Wery well informed with plenty of historical anecdotes and curiosities. I have learned and laughed so much!!!
A genius's work.

Not for me, 25 Aug 2008
I started out with enthusiasm with this book but should have read the title a little more carefully. A short 'history'of nearly everything with the emphasis on HISTORY. This book goes into great detail on how and when each new bit of information was discovered with biographies of the scientists involved. This was not really what I wanted to read about as would prefer just to know the latest most up to date information and there are plenty much more interesting books on these topics, I have been browsing the Lonely Planet version on space and science which is illustrated and topical. Dont wish to offend fans of Bill Bryson, it is probably my mistake.

How to learn very little about quite a lot, 24 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."

A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.

The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.

One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.

A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!



A great read but dont confuse it with the childrens version!, 03 Nov 2008
I read this book whilst on a round the world trip and it was a great companion, although it does take some reading!
I ordered a copy from Amazon for my father in law as a christmas present, but thought i would get the hardback version called 'a really short history of nearly everything'... a note of caution, this is the childrens much abridged and illustrated version and not the same as the paperback. i have decided to keep this however for my 10 yr old god son as this book is fascinating for all ages and it is great that the kids can read it too!


Overrated, 23 Sep 2008
I am skeptical of journalists or writers who think they can write a book about anything. Yeah sure they've a great gift for writing but that doesn't mean they have a great gift for understanding and explaining what it is they are writing about.

I really can't fathom that in a book which attempts to cover most of science, the scientific method itself isn't even explained. This means the mechanism which establishes science as most objective and reliable paradigm we have for establishing objective truth about the universe is omitted. Now, there's a countless amount of facts, dates, figures and 'imagine this' type stuff all there with the assumed intent of making a reader go wow. All very well, some of it will fuse the imagination, but let's not forget that the scientific method is what defines science. Without it, we have no way of differentiating between science and psuedo-science, no way of differentiating the reliability of the big bang theory and crystal healers.

Too many times, instead of explaining principles and concepts, Bryson opts for facts about dates. It really doesn't matter if it was 1915, 1916, or 1917 when Einstein published his theory on general relativity what matters is what it is saying, the concepts that underpin it and why we can be confident it's correct. In this regard, Byrson comes up well short. Someone like Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, or just about anyone with scientific training does a much better job.

Sometimes he's just way off. For example, when he discusses the theory of evolution which is just as sound as the theory of gravity in terms of the scientific method, since both are testifiable, falsifiable, have huge amounts of evidence (one billion+ fossils and infinite amount of DNA evidence), been through the same peer reviewing processes etc. So, in scientific terms doubting evolution is like doubting gravity.

His misunderstanding insinutates that the lack of fossils found in human evolution may cast doubt on the theory. He fails to point out the probability of fossilation is only about 1 / million and the probability of finding one about the same, which by simple mathematics make every fossil find of our ancestors species a miracle in statistical terms? He also fails to include that the DNA evidence is conclusive and all of it is consistent with evolution through natural selection. DNA vindicated Darwin.

If you want a pop Science book so that you can understand science just skip this book. Science is a very broad area now. Experts in Physics are not experts in Biology. Experts in Biology are not experts in Physics. A writer with no scientific expertise is certainly not an expert in anything scientific. If you really want to understand science, pick a branch of science and then pick the appropriate expert. Someone like Feymen for Physics, Dawkins for Biology or Hawking for the Universe.

Before you do any of that, make sure you understand the scientific method as described by Karl Popper. This is the framework that underpins all science and what makes science an exceptionally reliable paradigm. It's why planes fly and why we know the origins of all species on our planet.

If you couldn't give a monkeys about understanding and just want lots of scientific trivial, dates and names, well then, sadly this book could be a runner.


Essential introduction to science!, 23 Sep 2008
This book is not only highy educational, but very entertaining, and Bryson's writting style makes it fun, and it keeps you craving for more.
If would be a good idea to make this read a compulsory High School one, to excite the curiosity and the thirst for knowledge of our students, considering the fact that the more we know, the more we love.
It is a nearly complete and thorough overview on the main principles of science. Wery well informed with plenty of historical anecdotes and curiosities. I have learned and laughed so much!!!
A genius's work.

Not for me, 25 Aug 2008
I started out with enthusiasm with this book but should have read the title a little more carefully. A short 'history'of nearly everything with the emphasis on HISTORY. This book goes into great detail on how and when each new bit of information was discovered with biographies of the scientists involved. This was not really what I wanted to read about as would prefer just to know the latest most up to date information and there are plenty much more interesting books on these topics, I have been browsing the Lonely Planet version on space and science which is illustrated and topical. Dont wish to offend fans of Bill Bryson, it is probably my mistake.

How to learn very little about quite a lot, 24 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."

A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.

The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.

One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.

A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.

Interesting and Informative, 10 Aug 2007
All the Collins Gem books are great for keeping in your pocket if you are out on a field trip for the day and this one is no exception. The photographs are first class and the descriptions of the individual fungi clear and concise. The book describes almost 240 different species of mushroom and toadstool (when you've read the book you will know the difference). Their habitats, size, appearance and also whether they are poisonous or not.

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and with fungi it could be fatal. The book goes out of its way to show which fungi are edible and which are poisonous. Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket.

A very compact source of good information, 09 Aug 2007
I went on a fungas foray with the author of this book last year and it was extremely interesting and great fun. This book, although small, is packed full of the stuff I learned and much more information that gives me the confidence to go hunting on my own. It's the perfect size to pop in your pocket or basket while out walking.

One of the great things about it is that it identifies other species that can be confused with what you might have found. This allows you to double check and should make any mushroom hunting a lot safer.

a good pocket-sized guide, well illustrated, 28 Nov 2002
This little guide identifies a wide selection of funghi by reference to excellent photographs - much better than many of the artists' representations in some of the larger, dearer and more scholarly books.
There are short,sharp details about habitat, season and something of each specimen's histology. The book errs on the side of caution when dealing with edibility - so this is a book which could be given to a keen young explorer without too much risk of poisoning!
We keep a copy in the foraging basket, and refer to the more heavyweight volumes when we get home. It has much to recommend it.

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!



A great read but dont confuse it with the childrens version!, 03 Nov 2008
I read this book whilst on a round the world trip and it was a great companion, although it does take some reading!
I ordered a copy from Amazon for my father in law as a christmas present, but thought i would get the hardback version called 'a really short history of nearly everything'... a note of caution, this is the childrens much abridged and illustrated version and not the same as the paperback. i have decided to keep this however for my 10 yr old god son as this book is fascinating for all ages and it is great that the kids can read it too!


Overrated, 23 Sep 2008
I am skeptical of journalists or writers who think they can write a book about anything. Yeah sure they've a great gift for writing but that doesn't mean they have a great gift for understanding and explaining what it is they are writing about.

I really can't fathom that in a book which attempts to cover most of science, the scientific method itself isn't even explained. This means the mechanism which establishes science as most objective and reliable paradigm we have for establishing objective truth about the universe is omitted. Now, there's a countless amount of facts, dates, figures and 'imagine this' type stuff all there with the assumed intent of making a reader go wow. All very well, some of it will fuse the imagination, but let's not forget that the scientific method is what defines science. Without it, we have no way of differentiating between science and psuedo-science, no way of differentiating the reliability of the big bang theory and crystal healers.

Too many times, instead of explaining principles and concepts, Bryson opts for facts about dates. It really doesn't matter if it was 1915, 1916, or 1917 when Einstein published his theory on general relativity what matters is what it is saying, the concepts that underpin it and why we can be confident it's correct. In this regard, Byrson comes up well short. Someone like Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, or just about anyone with scientific training does a much better job.

Sometimes he's just way off. For example, when he discusses the theory of evolution which is just as sound as the theory of gravity in terms of the scientific method, since both are testifiable, falsifiable, have huge amounts of evidence (one billion+ fossils and infinite amount of DNA evidence), been through the same peer reviewing processes etc. So, in scientific terms doubting evolution is like doubting gravity.

His misunderstanding insinutates that the lack of fossils found in human evolution may cast doubt on the theory. He fails to point out the probability of fossilation is only about 1 / million and the probability of finding one about the same, which by simple mathematics make every fossil find of our ancestors species a miracle in statistical terms? He also fails to include that the DNA evidence is conclusive and all of it is consistent with evolution through natural selection. DNA vindicated Darwin.

If you want a pop Science book so that you can understand science just skip this book. Science is a very broad area now. Experts in Physics are not experts in Biology. Experts in Biology are not experts in Physics. A writer with no scientific expertise is certainly not an expert in anything scientific. If you really want to understand science, pick a branch of science and then pick the appropriate expert. Someone like Feymen for Physics, Dawkins for Biology or Hawking for the Universe.

Before you do any of that, make sure you understand the scientific method as described by Karl Popper. This is the framework that underpins all science and what makes science an exceptionally reliable paradigm. It's why planes fly and why we know the origins of all species on our planet.

If you couldn't give a monkeys about understanding and just want lots of scientific trivial, dates and names, well then, sadly this book could be a runner.


Essential introduction to science!, 23 Sep 2008
This book is not only highy educational, but very entertaining, and Bryson's writting style makes it fun, and it keeps you craving for more.
If would be a good idea to make this read a compulsory High School one, to excite the curiosity and the thirst for knowledge of our students, considering the fact that the more we know, the more we love.
It is a nearly complete and thorough overview on the main principles of science. Wery well informed with plenty of historical anecdotes and curiosities. I have learned and laughed so much!!!
A genius's work.

Not for me, 25 Aug 2008
I started out with enthusiasm with this book but should have read the title a little more carefully. A short 'history'of nearly everything with the emphasis on HISTORY. This book goes into great detail on how and when each new bit of information was discovered with biographies of the scientists involved. This was not really what I wanted to read about as would prefer just to know the latest most up to date information and there are plenty much more interesting books on these topics, I have been browsing the Lonely Planet version on space and science which is illustrated and topical. Dont wish to offend fans of Bill Bryson, it is probably my mistake.

How to learn very little about quite a lot, 24 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."

A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.

The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.

One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.

A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.

Interesting and Informative, 10 Aug 2007
All the Collins Gem books are great for keeping in your pocket if you are out on a field trip for the day and this one is no exception. The photographs are first class and the descriptions of the individual fungi clear and concise. The book describes almost 240 different species of mushroom and toadstool (when you've read the book you will know the difference). Their habitats, size, appearance and also whether they are poisonous or not.

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and with fungi it could be fatal. The book goes out of its way to show which fungi are edible and which are poisonous. Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket.

A very compact source of good information, 09 Aug 2007
I went on a fungas foray with the author of this book last year and it was extremely interesting and great fun. This book, although small, is packed full of the stuff I learned and much more information that gives me the confidence to go hunting on my own. It's the perfect size to pop in your pocket or basket while out walking.

One of the great things about it is that it identifies other species that can be confused with what you might have found. This allows you to double check and should make any mushroom hunting a lot safer.

a good pocket-sized guide, well illustrated, 28 Nov 2002
This little guide identifies a wide selection of funghi by reference to excellent photographs - much better than many of the artists' representations in some of the larger, dearer and more scholarly books.
There are short,sharp details about habitat, season and something of each specimen's histology. The book errs on the side of caution when dealing with edibility - so this is a book which could be given to a keen young explorer without too much risk of poisoning!
We keep a copy in the foraging basket, and refer to the more heavyweight volumes when we get home. It has much to recommend it.

Not for a 12 year old, 14 Nov 2008
Brought this for my dyslexic 12-year-old son who normally likes books which have small fact based sentences.

He hated this one.

Said it was "boring" and "rubbish compared to the Wombats bum book which is fabulous" and he devoured.

Possibly a better book for a younger child but we only tried this because of his lower reading age and because of the style of the book - Wrong choice.

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!



A great read but dont confuse it with the childrens version!, 03 Nov 2008
I read this book whilst on a round the world trip and it was a great companion, although it does take some reading!
I ordered a copy from Amazon for my father in law as a christmas present, but thought i would get the hardback version called 'a really short history of nearly everything'... a note of caution, this is the childrens much abridged and illustrated version and not the same as the paperback. i have decided to keep this however for my 10 yr old god son as this book is fascinating for all ages and it is great that the kids can read it too!


Overrated, 23 Sep 2008
I am skeptical of journalists or writers who think they can write a book about anything. Yeah sure they've a great gift for writing but that doesn't mean they have a great gift for understanding and explaining what it is they are writing about.

I really can't fathom that in a book which attempts to cover most of science, the scientific method itself isn't even explained. This means the mechanism which establishes science as most objective and reliable paradigm we have for establishing objective truth about the universe is omitted. Now, there's a countless amount of facts, dates, figures and 'imagine this' type stuff all there with the assumed intent of making a reader go wow. All very well, some of it will fuse the imagination, but let's not forget that the scientific method is what defines science. Without it, we have no way of differentiating between science and psuedo-science, no way of differentiating the reliability of the big bang theory and crystal healers.

Too many times, instead of explaining principles and concepts, Bryson opts for facts about dates. It really doesn't matter if it was 1915, 1916, or 1917 when Einstein published his theory on general relativity what matters is what it is saying, the concepts that underpin it and why we can be confident it's correct. In this regard, Byrson comes up well short. Someone like Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, or just about anyone with scientific training does a much better job.

Sometimes he's just way off. For example, when he discusses the theory of evolution which is just as sound as the theory of gravity in terms of the scientific method, since both are testifiable, falsifiable, have huge amounts of evidence (one billion+ fossils and infinite amount of DNA evidence), been through the same peer reviewing processes etc. So, in scientific terms doubting evolution is like doubting gravity.

His misunderstanding insinutates that the lack of fossils found in human evolution may cast doubt on the theory. He fails to point out the probability of fossilation is only about 1 / million and the probability of finding one about the same, which by simple mathematics make every fossil find of our ancestors species a miracle in statistical terms? He also fails to include that the DNA evidence is conclusive and all of it is consistent with evolution through natural selection. DNA vindicated Darwin.

If you want a pop Science book so that you can understand science just skip this book. Science is a very broad area now. Experts in Physics are not experts in Biology. Experts in Biology are not experts in Physics. A writer with no scientific expertise is certainly not an expert in anything scientific. If you really want to understand science, pick a branch of science and then pick the appropriate expert. Someone like Feymen for Physics, Dawkins for Biology or Hawking for the Universe.

Before you do any of that, make sure you understand the scientific method as described by Karl Popper. This is the framework that underpins all science and what makes science an exceptionally reliable paradigm. It's why planes fly and why we know the origins of all species on our planet.

If you couldn't give a monkeys about understanding and just want lots of scientific trivial, dates and names, well then, sadly this book could be a runner.


Essential introduction to science!, 23 Sep 2008
This book is not only highy educational, but very entertaining, and Bryson's writting style makes it fun, and it keeps you craving for more.
If would be a good idea to make this read a compulsory High School one, to excite the curiosity and the thirst for knowledge of our students, considering the fact that the more we know, the more we love.
It is a nearly complete and thorough overview on the main principles of science. Wery well informed with plenty of historical anecdotes and curiosities. I have learned and laughed so much!!!
A genius's work.

Not for me, 25 Aug 2008
I started out with enthusiasm with this book but should have read the title a little more carefully. A short 'history'of nearly everything with the emphasis on HISTORY. This book goes into great detail on how and when each new bit of information was discovered with biographies of the scientists involved. This was not really what I wanted to read about as would prefer just to know the latest most up to date information and there are plenty much more interesting books on these topics, I have been browsing the Lonely Planet version on space and science which is illustrated and topical. Dont wish to offend fans of Bill Bryson, it is probably my mistake.

How to learn very little about quite a lot, 24 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."

A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.

The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.

One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.

A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.

Interesting and Informative, 10 Aug 2007
All the Collins Gem books are great for keeping in your pocket if you are out on a field trip for the day and this one is no exception. The photographs are first class and the descriptions of the individual fungi clear and concise. The book describes almost 240 different species of mushroom and toadstool (when you've read the book you will know the difference). Their habitats, size, appearance and also whether they are poisonous or not.

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and with fungi it could be fatal. The book goes out of its way to show which fungi are edible and which are poisonous. Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket.

A very compact source of good information, 09 Aug 2007
I went on a fungas foray with the author of this book last year and it was extremely interesting and great fun. This book, although small, is packed full of the stuff I learned and much more information that gives me the confidence to go hunting on my own. It's the perfect size to pop in your pocket or basket while out walking.

One of the great things about it is that it identifies other species that can be confused with what you might have found. This allows you to double check and should make any mushroom hunting a lot safer.

a good pocket-sized guide, well illustrated, 28 Nov 2002
This little guide identifies a wide selection of funghi by reference to excellent photographs - much better than many of the artists' representations in some of the larger, dearer and more scholarly books.
There are short,sharp details about habitat, season and something of each specimen's histology. The book errs on the side of caution when dealing with edibility - so this is a book which could be given to a keen young explorer without too much risk of poisoning!
We keep a copy in the foraging basket, and refer to the more heavyweight volumes when we get home. It has much to recommend it.

Not for a 12 year old, 14 Nov 2008
Brought this for my dyslexic 12-year-old son who normally likes books which have small fact based sentences.

He hated this one.

Said it was "boring" and "rubbish compared to the Wombats bum book which is fabulous" and he devoured.

Possibly a better book for a younger child but we only tried this because of his lower reading age and because of the style of the book - Wrong choice.

So nearly perfect!, 07 Apr 2008
My 12 year old son picked this up and read in from front to back in preference to playing computer games - says it all, really! He adored it, but was slightly upset that not all elements were represented. I suggested it would have made it too large and not in the excellent 'pocket book' category, but he is correct that it is not only the wierd and wonderful elements that are missing but some basic ones too. Any chance of a 'Periodic Table Book 2' to fill in some gaps?
The subsequent 'Physics: Why Matter Matters' is even better and we can't wait for the Biology one in Oct 2008. Hope the series keeps going!

Just the best Periodic Table EVER!!!, 18 Jul 2007
This is how Science is supposed to be - FUN!
The book is accurate and covers everything a young mind would need to know about the elements and the little poster that comes with it (not shown here but is folded up in the back of the bok) is AMAZING!
I have scoured the internet for a periodic table for my son, and they come in many shapes and sizes but htis one is ideal as the colourful cartoon characters each element is given are represented on the chart too and he is really keen to learn all about them!
The book is written in the first person for each element and several interesting facts are given for each element as well as the important scientific data in easy to refer to bullet point form at the top of every page.
The elements are grouped correctly and each group has its own title page with description of the main features of each group (i.e. what makes the group what it is and how to identify elements that belong to that group)
the book is smaller than I thought but that just makes it even more accesible and the text is a good size, not too big, yet big enough to keep small eyes glued to the page.
I am now on the hunt to see if Kingfisher have published any more science books in this style as I want them all
Also an ideal read for Adults trying to pick up Science again after many years ( like me)
Super - really worth the money, and mine was delivered in 2 days.

OK - so its not for chemistry A-level or above, but anything below that level is sure to love it and to behonest I am thrilled that the book has given my son of 9 a chance to access the periodic table and that I won't all be far too tedious for him when he gets into Chemistry more later - he'll be one up on his classmates.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 30 May 2007
Who said chemistry had to be boring? (I'm sure no one has ever said this, but someone sure forgot to tell my science teacher!) Basher and Adrian Dingle have come together to create an entertaining and valuable resource for students with their version of the 111 elements.

Whether you're studying chemistry in school right now or not, you're sure to get a kick out of the full-color illustrations inside the pages of this book. Plus, you might actually learn something, as each element is fully described in detail: the name, its symbol, its atomic number, its atomic weight, its color, its standard state, and its classification.

The elements are also broken down into eleven separate categories, including the Alkali Metals, the Transition Elements, the Boron Elements, the Carbon Elements, the Nitrogen Elements, the Oxygen Elements, the Halogen Elements, the Noble Gases, the Lanthanides and Actinides, and the Transactinides.

This is the perfect, easy-to-use reference guide for people of all ages, and the included poster can easily be used for an educating, stylish decorating tool. Who knew elements could be so interesting??

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

Elements with Style indeed!, 21 May 2007
Although the previous reviewer is correct in saying that not all the elements were represented in this book - I think this is not the point of the book.....Some elements, as I'm sure he is aware, have only been detected for millonths of a second - so writing much about them might, at this level, be a bit tough! I thought it was a wonderfully attractive book that breathed some new life into this subject - it was an excellent idea to give each of the elements a "personality"; and the text, on the whole, was witty and entertaining and accurate!

Short-changed, 25 Apr 2007
The concept behind this book is quite appealing: present cameo portraits of the elements of the periodic table as if they were personalities (Lead: "Don't let my heavyweight status fool you---at heart I'm a totally malleable softie...") accompanied by fun, manga-style cartoon characters. This kind of approach has the potential to appeal to older children.

Where it falls down is that of the 111 elements shown on the folded 9.5" x 13.5" poster at the back of the book, only 54 (i.e. less than half) are actually written up in the book proper. Thus, for example, Cadmium, shown on the back cover, and Polonium---intriguingly shown on the front cover no less---are conspicuously absent. The Boron elements mysteriously stop after Aluminium; missing are Gallium, Indium and Thallium. The entirety of the Lanthanoids and Transactinides has been given short-shrift.

These are disappointing omissions. The end product is frustratingly superficial, redundant (who cares about Lead---tell me something interesting about an element I may have never heard of e.g. Gallium, Europium, Astatine etc) and incomplete.

Pretty comprehensive... for any age., 04 Nov 2008
Like most other reviewers got this as my 4-5 year old began asking questions about what is inside us? what is blood? what happens to our food? Why do we poo?
All these questions, and lots more besides, are answered simply with good instructional pictures which even taught me a few things.
Nothing included of a sexual nature but that's fine.
All-in-all excellent.

Best in Class, 27 Aug 2008
Informative and entertaining. Really fits the bill. The "poo flap" always raises a laugh with inquiring minds as well

Great for fact-hungry kids!, 04 Apr 2008
From about the age of 5 my son became very interested in factual books. This is a really good book and the lift-the-flap format works really well with this subject - helping to picture what is inside the body. At first I was reluctant to order it because it is only 16 pages long - however, there is so much detail and information it is a really good buy - always something else to look at and discuss with my son. I agree with the other reviewer that there is a lot here to make it a useful & informative book for primary school level too. Well made solid book with sturdy flaps. I think I will purchase further books from this `See Inside' series.

Makes Learning Fun, 08 Nov 2007
I bought this in January 2006 for my eldest daughter, she was 4 at the time, when she started asking what was inside her, i.e: What does my heart looked like? What's underneath skin my skin? What are muscles? and this book really helped with the answers. She still loves it at age 6 and I would imagine she will still find it relevant and interesting right through primary school.
The illustations look as though they have been hand drawn and coloured in in pencil, so they are quite accesible to young children and there are no grisley photos of your insides. The main illustrations have lifting flaps, which hide extra facts. Extra humourous remarks and pictures are dotted all around the pages. The text is clear and easy to understand. There is a glossary for some of the more difficult terms. The book is both fun and informative.
It is a lovely solid book with board pages so despite being taken into pre-school and primary school twice it is still inexcellent condition.

A great introduction to the Human Body, 29 Mar 2006
This is an excellent book to introduce children to the inner workings of the human body, helping to answer all those, "Mum, why do we poo?" type of questions. It is quite robust, having thick pages, each covered in flaps which open up to reveal body parts and how they work, all tastefully drawn. The explanations are simple and straightforward eg. if it means 'poo' it says 'poo' not 'stool' or some other euphemism not understood by a child. The colours are bright and there is plenty of detail to keep a child coming back to study the pages time after time. I bought it for my three and a half year old who loves it. It is designed for children up to the age of 10 I would think, but smaller ones can enjoy it too, looking at the pictures and reading with a parent.

Kids will love it, 03 Mar 2008
I am a Grand Ma and improved my Grand Ma ratings with all my grand children when I gave this to a 7 year old for Christmas. Cool, awsome, and other such things that are not often associated with Grand Ma's. All that said, I enjoyed the book myself as I have a hard and fast rule, don't give anything you would not like to receive. It is also the sort of book you can go back to over and over again, and, I am assured, it has a high swap value!!!

'So just tell me why is snot green?!, 31 Jul 2007
I bought this book today and I've got to tell you I just could not put it down! Believe it or not it is not boring! Kids and even adults will get a lot of fun out of this book. Every page is filled with cool questions and fascinating answers e.g. Will we be able to travel back in time? Will people have flying cars? Why is snot green? Find out all the answers in this book. You get lots of answers to the same question to help you understand more about the topic e.g. Why is the sky blue? (answer) Eh? Wait a minute - I thought air was invisible... (answer) and so on! It seems like the book will never end and that's a good thing! Anyway this is a great book and it is well worth the money. Buy it! You won't regret it!



A great read but dont confuse it with the childrens version!, 03 Nov 2008
I read this book whilst on a round the world trip and it was a great companion, although it does take some reading!
I ordered a copy from Amazon for my father in law as a christmas present, but thought i would get the hardback version called 'a really short history of nearly everything'... a note of caution, this is the childrens much abridged and illustrated version and not the same as the paperback. i have decided to keep this however for my 10 yr old god son as this book is fascinating for all ages and it is great that the kids can read it too!


Overrated, 23 Sep 2008
I am skeptical of journalists or writers who think they can write a book about anything. Yeah sure they've a great gift for writing but that doesn't mean they have a great gift for understanding and explaining what it is they are writing about.

I really can't fathom that in a book which attempts to cover most of science, the scientific method itself isn't even explained. This means the mechanism which establishes science as most objective and reliable paradigm we have for establishing objective truth about the universe is omitted. Now, there's a countless amount of facts, dates, figures and 'imagine this' type stuff all there with the assumed intent of making a reader go wow. All very well, some of it will fuse the imagination, but let's not forget that the scientific method is what defines science. Without it, we have no way of differentiating between science and psuedo-science, no way of differentiating the reliability of the big bang theory and crystal healers.

Too many times, instead of explaining principles and concepts, Bryson opts for facts about dates. It really doesn't matter if it was 1915, 1916, or 1917 when Einstein published his theory on general relativity what matters is what it is saying, the concepts that underpin it and why we can be confident it's correct. In this regard, Byrson comes up well short. Someone like Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, or just about anyone with scientific training does a much better job.

Sometimes he's just way off. For example, when he discusses the theory of evolution which is just as sound as the theory of gravity in terms of the scientific method, since both are testifiable, falsifiable, have huge amounts of evidence (one billion+ fossils and infinite amount of DNA evidence), been through the same peer reviewing processes etc. So, in scientific terms doubting evolution is like doubting gravity.

His misunderstanding insinutates that the lack of fossils found in human evolution may cast doubt on the theory. He fails to point out the probability of fossilation is only about 1 / million and the probability of finding one about the same, which by simple mathematics make every fossil find of our ancestors species a miracle in statistical terms? He also fails to include that the DNA evidence is conclusive and all of it is consistent with evolution through natural selection. DNA vindicated Darwin.

If you want a pop Science book so that you can understand science just skip this book. Science is a very broad area now. Experts in Physics are not experts in Biology. Experts in Biology are not experts in Physics. A writer with no scientific expertise is certainly not an expert in anything scientific. If you really want to understand science, pick a branch of science and then pick the appropriate expert. Someone like Feymen for Physics, Dawkins for Biology or Hawking for the Universe.

Before you do any of that, make sure you understand the scientific method as described by Karl Popper. This is the framework that underpins all science and what makes science an exceptionally reliable paradigm. It's why planes fly and why we know the origins of all species on our planet.

If you couldn't give a monkeys about understanding and just want lots of scientific trivial, dates and names, well then, sadly this book could be a runner.


Essential introduction to science!, 23 Sep 2008
This book is not only highy educational, but very entertaining, and Bryson's writting style makes it fun, and it keeps you craving for more.
If would be a good idea to make this read a compulsory High School one, to excite the curiosity and the thirst for knowledge of our students, considering the fact that the more we know, the more we love.
It is a nearly complete and thorough overview on the main principles of science. Wery well informed with plenty of historical anecdotes and curiosities. I have learned and laughed so much!!!
A genius's work.

Not for me, 25 Aug 2008
I started out with enthusiasm with this book but should have read the title a little more carefully. A short 'history'of nearly everything with the emphasis on HISTORY. This book goes into great detail on how and when each new bit of information was discovered with biographies of the scientists involved. This was not really what I wanted to read about as would prefer just to know the latest most up to date information and there are plenty much more interesting books on these topics, I have been browsing the Lonely Planet version on space and science which is illustrated and topical. Dont wish to offend fans of Bill Bryson, it is probably my mistake.

How to learn very little about quite a lot, 24 Aug 2008
Bill Bryson's book is an attempt to discuss the origins of life, the universe and everything contained therein. It's slightly tongue-in-cheek title indicates that this isn't going to be some heavyweight, academic discussion but more of a Now That's What I Call Science! After all, no book can seriously claim to be all-encompassing and completely comprehensive on any one subject, let alone "everything."

A Short History of Nearly Everything is clearly written to be a book that appeals to people who wouldn't normally want to read a whole book about gravity, molecular science, or paleontology; as a result, the book falls betwixt two stools: it skims superficially pretty much every subject it touches upon, so those only mildly interested won't learn much and those who have already read something on their specialised subject probably won't learn anything they didn't already know.

The first half of the book is the most interesting, containing some great anecdotes about the famous names of science (Newton, Darwin and so forth); this section shines and brings to life people whose names have become synonymous with their subject matter. However, as the various disciplines become more professionalised, the well of anecdotal material runs short, and the book loses much of its appeal.

One of the key themes of this work, which is not overtly stated but seems unmissable, is that the narrative of the history of science is quite different from how the mainstream media portrays science itself. Specifically, science is often presented as being the concept of a battle over evidence: how an idea is proposed, evidence is put forth in support, counterevidence is held up against it and ultimately, whichever theory fits most of the facts is deemed to be that which is most probable. This is not the case, according to Bryson's book. What is deemed to be scientifically true is determined just as much by factors of cultural acceptance as objective facts. Theories are put forth, ignored, then ridiculed, then, when the evidence becomes such that it can neither be marginalised nor mocked, the theory is embraced and history effectively rewritten so that science can be presented as being the onward march of progress and enlightenment. A reassuring but historically dubious narrative.

A Short History... is marketed around the "Bill Bryson" brand: his low-key charm, wit and self-effacing humour is meant to enliven the driest of subjects. Therefore, if you enjoy his style, then you will probably enjoy this book and indeed, the book was charmingly well written and certainly easy to consume. However, at best, A Short History of Nearly Everything is a shallow introduction to the key disciplines of the various sciences, animated by some fine anecdotal touches. Bryson's book will probably provide a drop-off point for those wishing to explore in greater breadth subjects of which their curiosity has been piqued.

Interesting and Informative, 10 Aug 2007
All the Collins Gem books are great for keeping in your pocket if you are out on a field trip for the day and this one is no exception. The photographs are first class and the descriptions of the individual fungi clear and concise. The book describes almost 240 different species of mushroom and toadstool (when you've read the book you will know the difference). Their habitats, size, appearance and also whether they are poisonous or not.

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and with fungi it could be fatal. The book goes out of its way to show which fungi are edible and which are poisonous. Personally I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket.

A very compact source of good information, 09 Aug 2007
I went on a fungas foray with the author of this book last year and it was extremely interesting and great fun. This book, although small, is packed full of the stuff I learned and much more information that gives me the confidence to go hunting on my own. It's the perfect size to pop in your pocket or basket while out walking.

One of the great things about it is that it identifies other species that can be confused with what you might have found. This allows you to double check and should make any mushroom hunting a lot safer.

a good pocket-sized guide, well illustrated, 28 Nov 2002
This little guide identifies a wide selection of funghi by reference to excellent photographs - much better than many of the artists' representations in some of the larger, dearer and more scholarly books.
There are short,sharp details about habitat, season and something of each specimen's histology. The book errs on the side of caution when dealing with edibility - so this is a book which could be given to a keen young explorer without too much risk of poisoning!
We keep a copy in the foraging basket, and refer to the more heavyweight volumes when we get home. It has much to recommend it.

Not for a 12 year old, 14 Nov 2008
Brought this for my dyslexic 12-year-old son who normally likes books which have small fact based sentences.

He hated this one.

Said it was "boring" and "rubbish compared to the Wombats bum book which is fabulous" and he devoured.

Possibly a better book for a younger child but we only tried this because of his lower reading age and because of the style of the book - Wrong choice.

So nearly perfect!, 07 Apr 2008
My 12 year old son picked this up and read in from front to back in preference to playing computer games - says it all, really! He adored it, but was slightly upset that not all elements were represented. I suggested it would have made it too large and not in the excellent 'pocket book' category, but he is correct that it is not only the wierd and wonderful elements that are missing but some basic ones too. Any chance of a 'Periodic Table Book 2' to fill in some gaps?
The subsequent 'Physics: Why Matter Matters' is even better and we can't wait for the Biology one in Oct 2008. Hope the series keeps going!

Just the best Periodic Table EVER!!!, 18 Jul 2007
This is how Science is supposed to be - FUN!
The book is accurate and covers everything a young mind would need to know about the elements and the little poster that comes with it (not shown here but is folded up in the back of the bok) is AMAZING!
I have scoured the internet for a periodic table for my son, and they come in many shapes and sizes but htis one is ideal as the colourful cartoon characters each element is given are represented on the chart too and he is really keen to learn all about them!
The book is written in the first person for each element and several interesting facts are given for each element as well as the important scientific data in easy to refer to bullet point form at the top of every page.
The elements are grouped correctly and each group has its own title page with description of the main features of each group (i.e. what makes the group what it is and how to identify elements that belong to that group)
the book is smaller than I thought but that just makes it even more accesible and the text is a good size, not too big, yet big enough to keep small eyes glued to the page.
I am now on the hunt to see if Kingfisher have published any more science books in this style as I want them all
Also an ideal read for Adults trying to pick up Science again after many years ( like me)
Super - really worth the money, and mine was delivered in 2 days.

OK - so its not for chemistry A-level or above, but anything below that level is sure to love it and to behonest I am thrilled that the book has given my son of 9 a chance to access the periodic table and that I won't all be far too tedious for him when he gets into Chemistry more later - he'll be one up on his classmates.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 30 May 2007
Who said chemistry had to be boring? (I'm sure no one has ever said this, but someone sure forgot to tell my science teacher!) Basher and Adrian Dingle have come together to create an entertaining and valuable resource for students with their version of the 111 elements.

Whether you're studying chemistry in school right now or not, you're sure to get a kick out of the full-color illustrations inside the pages of this book. Plus, you might actually learn something, as each element is fully described in detail: the name, its symbol, its atomic number, its atomic weight, its color, its standard state, and its classification.

The elements are also broken down into eleven separate categories, including the Alkali Metals, the Transition Elements, the Boron Elements, the Carbon Elements, the Nitrogen Elements, the Oxygen Elements, the Halogen Elements, the Noble Gases, the Lanthanides and Actinides, and the Transactinides.

This is the perfect, easy-to-use reference guide for people of all ages, and the included poster can easily be used for an educating, stylish decorating tool. Who knew elements could be so interesting??

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

Elements with Style indeed!, 21 May 2007
Although the previous reviewer is correct in saying that not all the elements were represented in this book - I think this is not the point of the book.....Some elements, as I'm sure he is aware, have only been detected for millonths of a second - so writing much about them might, at this level, be a bit tough! I thought it was a wonderfully attractive book that breathed some new life into this subject - it was an excellent idea to give each of the elements a "personality"; and the text, on the whole, was witty and entertaining and accurate!

Short-changed, 25 Apr 2007
The concept behind this book is quite appealing: present cameo portraits of the elements of the periodic table as if they were personalities (Lead: "Don't let my heavyweight status fool you---at heart I'm a totally malleable softie...") accompanied by fun, manga-style cartoon characters. This kind of approach has the potential to appeal to older children.

Where it falls down is that of the 111 elements shown on the folded 9.5" x 13.5" poster at the back of the book, only 54 (i.e. less than half) are actually written up in the book proper. Thus, for example, Cadmium, shown on the back cover, and Polonium---intriguingly shown on the front cover no less---are conspicuously absent. The Boron elements mysteriously stop after Aluminium; missing are Gallium, Indium and Thallium. The entirety of the Lanthanoids and Transactinides has been given short-shrift.

These are disappointing omissions. The end product is frustratingly superficial, redundant (who cares about Lead---tell me something interesting about an element I may have never heard of e.g. Gallium, Europium, Astatine etc) and incomplete.

I learned some new stuff too!, 19 Jan 2008
What a great book! Just enough information for an inquisitive 5 year old and his mum who it seems doesn't always have the answers...until now!

Great illustrations to help understanding and simply put text...my little boy is dipping into this all the time. We look at the stars now in a different light. I'm off to buy some different titles in the same series...can't recommend enough.