A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill BrysonBill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like

Thich Nhat Hanh’s clear

One way to tell their story is this: they had a dream

Using the techniques that you have learned

and overcoming personal obstacles

A blazingly intelligent first collection of essays from the award-winning author of Open City and Every Day Is for the Thief

There are four fascinating essays on fellow Nobel laureate Samuel Beckett and he looks at the work of three Australian writers: Patrick White

Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more

and corporations to ordinary citizens around the world

one of Shakespeare's most resistant and rollicking works

One of today's most inspiring world leaders was once an ordinary child named Lhamo Thondup

a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before

set against the backdrop of India's corrupt political system