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A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0

Brought to you by Penguin.

The 21st century's bestselling popular science book
has now been fully revised and updated in Bill Bryson's inimitable style to reflect the many advances in science since this book was first published in 2003.

This journey through time and space will inform a new generation of readers as well as those who read this book on first publication with a new perspective based on what we know now.

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 is the result of Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization – how we got from being nothing at all to what we are today. Now fully updated to include all the latest advances in science, it is more ground-breaking than ever before.

Bryson makes complex subjects fascinating and accessible to everyone with an interest in the world around them. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 reveals the world in a whole new way.

'Possibly the best scientific primer ever published.' Economist
'Truly impressive...It's hard to imagine a better rough guide to science.' Guardian
'A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide' The Times

© Bill Bryson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

About Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He is the author of eighteen books and holds the record of having the most bestsellers of any author on the Sunday Times bestseller list in the last fifty years. A Short History of Nearly Everything, first published in 2003, spent 106 weeks in the chart, won both the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize and is the biggest-selling non-fiction book of the twenty-first century.

Bill Bryson is a former Chancellor of Durham University and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.
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