*A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, 2003

I am embarrassed that I read this magnum opus 13 years after it was published, since science and technology have advanced at such rates as to date some of what Bryson covers. Even so, this accessible, often amusing and very satisfying ramble through prehistory, from how and what the cosmos to the components of matter, from the formation of the earth to the miracle of life in such an inhospitable universe, and from the evolution of homo sapiens, the species to the precarious future, is still so worth reading. Every one of its 478 pages provides so much information, it’s best to read a chapter at a time. Even savouring the text this way leaves far too much to absorb. But I know now to where I can go to check for facts, as needed.                         8/10