书名：A Short History of Nearly Everything 万物简史
难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数1190
作者：Bill Bryson
出版社名称：Black Swan
出版时间：2004
语种：英文
ISBN：9780552151740
商品尺寸：10.5 x3.6x 17.7cm
包装：简装
页数：686

A Short History of Nearly Everything《万物简史》是一部有关现代科学发展史的既通俗易懂又引人入胜的书，作者用清晰明了、幽默风趣的笔法，将宇宙大爆炸到人类文明发展进程中所发生的繁多妙趣横生的故事一一收入笔下。惊奇和感叹组成了《万物简史》，历历在目的天下万物组成了《万物简史》，益于人们了解大千世界的无穷奥妙，掌握万事万物的发展脉络。
适合英语专业学生及对人类历史类英语书籍感兴趣的读者品读。
推荐理由： 
1.本书2003年5月在美国出版后，连续数十周高居《纽约时报》《泰晤士报》排行榜前列，荣登亚马逊网站2003年度十大畅销书之列，在年度科学图书排行榜中，本书更是勇夺桂冠；
2. 2004年初，被美国《科学》杂志评选为2003年度科学著作之一；2004年6月,又一举夺得了由英国皇家学会颁发的世界久负盛名的科普图书大奖──安万特（Aventis）奖；
3.《万物简史》气魄宏大，内容丰富，观点既融合了东西方在该领域该学科中研究的精华，又贯穿了作者独特的个性和不凡见解；
4.全书从科学发展史的角度对“我们从哪里来？我们是谁？我们到哪里去？”这一千古命题作了极为精当的阐释，每一个人在阅读此书之后，都会对生命、对人生、对我们所生活的世界产生全新的感悟。
A Short History of Nearly Everything by American author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more so to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.

书中回溯了科学史上那些伟大与奇妙的时刻，引用了近年来发现的新科学史料，几乎每一个被作者描述的事件都奇特而且惊人：宇宙起源于一个要用显微镜才能看得见的奇点；全球气候变暖可能会使北美洲和欧洲北部地区变得更加寒冷；1815年印度尼西亚松巴哇岛坦博士拉火山喷发，喷涌而出的熔岩以及相伴而来的海啸夺走了10万人的生命；美国黄石国家公园是“世界上zui大的活火山”……而那些沉迷于科学的科学家们也是千奇百怪：达尔文居然为蚯蚓弹起了钢琴；牛顿将一根大针眼缝针插进眼窝，为的只是看看会有什么事情发生；富兰克林不顾生命危险在大雷雨里放风筝；卡文迪许在自己身上做电击强度实验，竟然到了失去知觉的地步……
In A Short History of Nearly Everything,Bill Bryson takes his ultimate journey —into the most intriguing and consequential questions that science seeks to answer. It’s a dazzling quest, the intellectual odyssey of a lifetime, as this insatiably curious writer attempts to understand everything that has transpired from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization.

Bill Bryson比尔·布莱森，享誉世界的旅游文学作家。1951年出生于美国艾奥瓦州，毕业于美国德雷克大学。从1973年起，在英国居住20之久，任职于《泰晤士报》与《独立报》，同时也为《纽约时报》《国家地理杂志》等刊物撰文。
William McGuire “Bill” Bryson OBE FRS is a best-selling Anglo-American author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other non-fiction topics. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011. Bryson came to prominence in the United Kingdom with the publication ofNotes from a Small Island (1995), an exploration of Britain, and its accompanying television series. He received widespread recognition again with the publication ofA Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a book widely acclaimed for its accessible communication of science.

Acknowledgements致谢
Introduction简介
I  Lost in the Cosmos寥廓的空宇
    1 How to Build a Universe如何营造一个宇宙
    2 Welcome to the Solar System欢迎光临太阳系
    3 The Reverend Evanss Universe埃文斯牧师的宇宙
II  The Size of the Earth地球的大小
    4 The Measure of Things事物的测定
    5 The Stone-Breakers敲石头的人们
    6 Science Red in Tooth and Claw势不两立的科学
    7 Elemental Matters基本物质
III  A New Age Dawns一个新时代的黎明
    8 Einsteins Universe爱因斯坦的宇宙
    9 The Mighty Atom威力巨大的原子
    10  Getting the Lead Out把铅撵出去
    11  Muster Marks Quarks马斯特•马克的夸克
    12  The Earth Moves大地在移动
IV  Dangerous Planet处境危险的行星
    13  Bang! 砰！
    14  The Fire Below地下的烈火
    15  Dangerous Beauty美丽而危险
V  Life Itself生命本身
    16  Lonely Planet孤独的行星
    17  Into the Troposphere进入对流层
    18  The Bounding Main浩瀚的海洋
    19  The Rise of Life生命的起源
    20  Small World小生物的世界
    21  Life Goes On生命在前进
    22  Goodbye to All That多灾多难的生命进程
    23  The Richness of Being丰富多彩的生命
    24  Cells令人惊叹的细胞
    25  Darwins Singular Notion达尔文的非凡见解
    26  The Stuff of Life生命的物质
VI  The Road to Us通向我们的路
    27  Ice Time冰河时代
    28  The Mysterious Biped神秘的两足动物
    29  The Resdess Ape永不安分的类人猿
    30  Goodbye一个星球，一次实验
Notes注释
Bibliography参考书目
Index索引

Welcome. And congratulations. I am delighted that you could make it. Getting here wasnt easy, I know. In fact, I suspect it was a little tougher than you realize.
To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and intriguingly obliging manner to create you. Its an arrangement so specialized and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exist this once. For the next many years (we hope) these tiny particles will uncomplainingly engage in all the billions of deft, cooperative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally underappreciated state known as existence.
Why atoms take this trouble is a bit of a puzzle. Being you is not a gratifying experience at the atomic level. For all their devoted attention, your atoms dont actually care about you-indeed, dont even know that you are there. They dont even know that they are there. They are mindless particles, after all, and not even themselves alive. (It is a slightly arresting notion that if you were to pick yourself apart with tweezers, one atom at a time, you would produce a mound of fine atomic dust, none of which had ever been alive but all of which had once been you.) Yet somehow for the period of your existence they will answer to a single overarching impulse: to keep you you.