57 pages • 1 hour read
Bill BrysonA Short History of Nearly Everything
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
IntroductionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Introduction Summary
Here, Bill Bryson reflects on the miracle of life, the fact that “trillions of drifting atoms had to somehow assemble in an intricate and intriguingly obliging manner to create you” (1). He explains how atoms are mindless particles, and yet they work together to comprise each person on the planet. This is an incredibly unique phenomenon because, so far as we know, the atoms that “so liberally and congenially flock together to form living things on Earth are the same atoms that decline to do it elsewhere” (2).
He describes life as mysteriously mundane because the basic building blocks of life such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, calcium, and sulfur, are very elementary elements that can be found at a drugstore. And yet, somehow, they work together to make complex human beings. In fact, atoms comprise everything in the known universe. Before atoms, there was a vast nothingness.
He explains that life on Earth is “a surprisingly tricky business. Of the billions and billions of species of living thing that have existed since the dawn of time, most—99.9 percent—are no longer around” (3). And yet, here we are, able to think and reason and contemplate our existence. He briefly chronicles evolution, our journey from a “protoplasmal primordial atomic globule” to a sentient human being (3). Basically, we are incredibly lucky to be here; since the beginning of time, everything had to align perfectly for us to be here today.
Bryson states that the book is “about how it happened—in particular, how we went from there being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us, and also some of what happened in between and since” (4). Bryson was inspired to write the book for two reasons. One, he realized just how little he knew about the world around him, and writing the book would enable him to dedicate three years to researching. Two, he remembers being fascinated by science as a child, but completely bored by every science book. A Brief History of Nearly Everything is an attempt to provide a comprehensive yet exciting and fun view of the science behind our world.
Introduction Analysis
The introduction is intended to explain the reasons why Bryson wrote this book. Since he isn’t a scientist by trade, the introduction gives Bryson a space to state his personal interest in the subject matter. Rather than being an expert himself, he recognizes that throughout his life he has severely lacked understanding regarding our universe and planet Earth. In particular, he realized he had no idea how there “went from being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us” (4). He furthers this idea by stating that science has always been inaccessible to the common person because the text books always convey science in a dry, difficult to understand way. He says that his desire is to change that through this book. In this sense, through the introduction Bryson is admitting that although he is not an expert, his curiosity has driven him to find the answers not just for himself, but for the common good.
On a stylistic level, he uses a plethora of religious language, such as “miracle of life” (2), “blessed” (3), and “miracle” (5), to emphasize just how amazing it is that life on this planet exists. While Bryson doesn’t state a belief in a higher power, this language demonstrates a recognition that we humans are here on this Earth against all odds, a notion that is thoroughly explored in later chapters.
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By Bill Bryson
