Book review by Tyler

What can I say besides I really love this book! I read it for the 5th time in 15 years while on vacation in April. That doesn’t include the many times I have picked it up and read a couple of pages to either learn something or have a quick laugh.That is the magic of Bill Bryson: you are happily reading an almost textbook on seemingly dry topics like zoology, geology, meteorology, physics, cosmology or mathematics, because Bill manages to keep you laughing. Bill wrote this book to improve his own knowledge of the general sciences, as he recalled never absorbing any of the material in school because the textbooks were so boring.

The author keeps your interest in part, by exploring some of the funny aspects of the lives of the scientists who made the breakthroughs and have helped our understanding of the universe. If you are looking for a great book that will both entertain and make you smarter, this is the book for you. I am now reading it (again!) with my 10-year-old daughter. She doesn’t get Bill’s dad jokes yet, but she will learn!

— Tyler