Favorite Books Of 2010

I read a fair number of books this year, here are the ones I most enjoyed (in no particular order).


Brave New World - An engaging story set in a possible future. Well written, engaging and thoughtful.

A Confederacy of Dunces - A most odd protagonist bumbles along causing chaos in his wake, yet somehow it makes sense.

Ghostopolis - Written for pre-teens but the story is so imaginative it's appealing to all. A few plot problems, but forgivable. The illustrations of this graphic novel are excellent - dramatic, expressive, art.

More Information Than You Require - Hodgman's humor doesn't work for everyone, but if it does this book is a treat. The audiobook is read by Hodgman and includes many guests, which elevates the material and makes it a fantastic performance piece.

Snowcrash - A full story with action, intrigue, inventive technology and strong characters. My first cyberpunk book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Neuromancer - The grand daddy of cyberpunk and rightfully so. Fast-moving story, sparce and precise writing, intriguing characters, novel concepts and depth. Not a breezy read, Gibson expects you to pay attention and rewards you for doing so.

Peace Like a River - Take the expressiveness of poetry and tell a big story. Just delicious to read.

Straight Man - If I told you the plot it would sound dull. Kind of like if I summarized the movie "As Good As It Gets". Russo takes a mundane story and makes it fun and funny; I laughed a lot.

The Corrections - I almost aborted this book. Franzen aptly and deeply paints his characters, with all their destructive quirks. Enid's relentless, guilt-inducing nagging repulsed me. Yet the writing is brilliant and reveals real humanity, even if it's often ugly. There is a lot of truth in this book, about how we live in this age and what we care about.

Heart of Darkness - Not the most accessible story, but it serves as a canvas to explore what drives people and where it takes them. It's hard for me to stay tuned into these older styles of writing, yet Conrad several times nails an expression so perfectly that I was in awe.

Les Miserables - I listened to the abridged version and was enthralled. Stripped down to the main story it's amazing how strong and exciting it is. This is a classic that anyone can, and everyone should, read. You'll be entertained and it will stick with you a long time.

A Briefer History of Time - An excellent introduction to modern physics. The explanations are clear, and many are the best I've read. "A Brief History of Time" was good, this update is better. The concepts are often strange, counter-intuitive and difficult to grasp. But even if you understand only a little you'll have new wonder for the tiny subatomic world and the enormous sprawl of the universe. And it's only 176 pages.

A Walk in the Woods - Bryson tells his tale of hiking the Appalachian trail so well, you'll feel like you were there. And plenty of humor, thanks to his buddy Katz.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Another Bryson. This time it's his childhood recollections of growing up in 1950s. Magical and entertaining.


I enjoyed putting this list together and being reminded of how much I enjoyed reading these books. I've got a pretty long list of books I want to read but feel free to make suggestions or comment on the books above.

Summer Books 2010

I've read a few books over the Summer - here's what I thought of them:

The Millionaires - I should have aborted. I didn't care for this book. The story idea is OK, but the telling was too dramatic and too much made of little things. The reader of the audiobook added flair, but it couldn't be saved. And it ended with a whimper to boot. It was free and recommended, maybe that's why I stayed with it. I can accept the occasional clinker, but I should have pulled the plug, there's so much better out there.

The War Of The Worlds - I liked the movie. I liked the Orson Wells radio program that caused the panic back in 1938 (here's the MP3). Since it's out of copyright in the USA, I downloaded the audiobook read by a volunteer (with a pleasant English accent). I quite enjoyed it, even though I usually don't like old books and there were a few flaws in the recording. I'm impressed that H. G. Wells imagined such fanciful yet believable concepts (for fiction, you know what I mean). And he described things so well. The part about his brother in London was an unnecessary tangent that went too long, and I got bored with a few other sections where H. G. waxed on about some detail, but overall I liked it.

Brave New World - After reading Genesis (not in the Bible) I was in the mood for some more future fiction (I guess that's science fiction, but that usually means space travel and aliens and such). Aldous Huxley can write and I enjoyed reading his prose. It's an odd story, but it has a point, many points. It's not a message story, he just presents a possible future and if you don't see any parallels to where our society is headed, well then you read a nice story (and missed the points). I liked how he described this future society and it's technologies in just enough detail to make them realistic, but vague enough that they don't sound hokey today. Sure he was off on some things, but I'm impressed how well it's held up. Good book.

Snow Crash - Another future fiction. Some cool and ingenious concepts and technology in this book. The history lesson went on a bit long, but I respect the research he did for the book. The premise for the story is inventive and intriguing. And I liked his writing - get to the point and keep the story moving. I can see myself reading more Neal Stephenson. But I think I need to read Neuromancer first.

Blind Descent - I like adventure stories. So when I read a recommendation for this book about explorers seeking the deepest cave in the world I was hooked. The tale is indeed interesting, but the book is hampered by the merely adequate writing and the author's penchant for talking about the story when he should be telling the story. The content was worth it, but just barely. Here's a taste (spoiler): before 2001 the deepest cave in the world was in Austria (1,632 meters, 5,354 feet), and while American Bill Stone and his team was exploring Cheve cave in Mexico that went deeper, a Ukranian team kept pushing deeper still into Krubera cave in Abkhazia, Georgia to the current record of 2,191 meters (7,188 feet). What these people went through and what they discovered was amazing - too bad the book wasn't better.

More Information Than You Require - dug turned me onto this audiobook and it was a hit with me. John Hodgman's humor is sly and often cerebral. He's best known as PC in a series of Apple ads. A few his topics were duds, but most were at least amusing and I usually laughed several times each commute. John's command of language allows him to finely craft his jokes. I even liked his wistful, yet still tongue in check, commentary about fame. The book is probably OK, but you really want the audiobook as it is read by Hodgman and has a lot of good adlibs and cameos, and a few songs by Jonathan Coulton (my favorite song is The Future Soon). Now I need to listen to his first book, The Areas Of My Expertise.

Aborted Books

Until last year I can't remember ever not finishing a book I started reading. I'm a sucker, I have to know what happens, even if the story stinks.

But last year I started Hawaii by James A. Michener and put it aside after 50 pages. It wasn't the writing, in fact the writing was quite good. It was the glacial pace of the story. Michener begins the book describing the creation of the Hawaiian Islands, and after 50 pages the first island had just poked up out of the water. I flipped to the last page, 960, and decided right there I didn't want to spend the time reading this book.

That was a breakthrough because now I've aborted several books. It might be I get into it a ways and decide I don't like it, or I'm not in the mood for a particular style/genre. Whatever the case it's been liberating, even though it's not easy to cut bait.

The latest book I'm dumping is Rabbit, Run by John Updike. It was on some best novels list I found somewhere. Updike is certainly a skilled writer. He's a master of picturesque prose. But where Tolkein needs to describe his fictional world so you can appreciate it, Updike describes the mundane - cars, streets, restaurants, apartments, clothing. True, he makes these everyday things soar, but in the end they are familiar and not very interesting. And while he's describing all this stuff the story drags. The characters are mildly interesting, as far as I can tell given the occasional glimpses Updike gives. So after 50 pages I decided I wanted to move on to something with a story that moves quicker.

I guess 50 pages is about what I'll invest to test out a book.

Now on to some books I did finish:

What Do You Care What Other People Think? - The 2nd biographical book about the noted and quirky physicist Richard P. Feynman. (The 1st biography is Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!) Some anecdotes were interesting, but it's kind of slow and very much a reflection of a logical, matter-of-fact person. You do get a sense of how he thinks and sees the world, which I enjoyed. The last third of the book is about his experience on the commission investigating the space shuttle Challenger explosion, which is pretty dry, but if that's a topic that interests you he gives a lot of detail. At the end is Feynman's lecture on The Value of Science, which had a lot of good thoughts (go read it, it's not long). I listened to this audiobook in the car during my commute and appreciated the work of the reader to make this somewhat dry book have more life. People who dig science or biographies may like this book, but most will find it boring.

Genesis - I liked this short novel (150 pages) by New Zealand author Bernard Beckett, but it's not a mass appeal book and even then you need to be in the mood for something meaty and science fiction. The setting of the book (an interview / examination) provides an interesting framework, but I'm not sure the detachment it created works. The philosophical debate I found thought-provoking, but others may find it esoteric. I liked it enough I'm considering reading Brave New World next.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Yep, another Bryson book. What can I say, his books consistently entertain me. I listened to this audiobook driving to work and laughed many times. The book is a fun memoir about Bryson growing up in the 50s. Good insights, funny stories, interesting observations and facts. Bryson noted that productivity doubled in the 50's, but instead of taking it easy, most Americans worked as much or more so they could buy more stuff. This book got me thinking wistfully about the 50s and my own childhood (in the 60s). I think most people will enjoy this book, although for the sensitive there are a few f-words and his boyish desires may be a turn off.

So Brave, Young, and Handsome - I really liked Peace Like A River so I listened to this next book by Enger. The writing is good, but not enthralling as 'Peace Like A River'. The story and characters are interesting and well formed, but didn't pull me in completely. Worth reading, but not a great book.

A Brief History of Time - The first chapters are the best overview of modern physics I have read. The chapters on black holes, Hawking's specialty, are bogged down with a few too many tangents, but there is some interesting info there. The final chapters are pretty good. Read the updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition, if you can. Or the more concise A Briefer History Of Time may be a good choice (haven't read it, but will soon).

Some day I'll do a review of the physics books I've read, but since A Brief History of Time was so good I thought I'd mention it now.

More Recent Books

It's been a while since I reviewed the books I've read recently.

Peace Like A River - I was blown away by the writing in The Road, and this book is in the same lofty class. The writing sings and soars, like poetry. The story is odd but the writing is such a pleasure it hardly matters.

Straight Man - One of Elden's favorite books, and I can see why. Well written and liberally spiced with sly humor. The story meanders, but it's a fun ride. I laughed many times. I can see reading more Russo.

Daemon / Freedom (TM) - A two-book science fiction story in the near and possible future. The tech is based on real science. I liked the big idea of how technology can enable a new society. But the story could have been tightened and the writing honed. Still, not bad for a first-time author.

Angels & Demons - An intriguing story based on real places and historical figures. The pace is brisk and the writing solid. It fell apart at the end for me. The Da Vinci Code was better.

First Audiobooks

Back in January I announced I was trying something new: audiobooks. I started with A Confederacy Of Dunces and noted that I really liked the book, so much so that at times I wished I was reading it so I could really savor it.

Since then I've listened to two other audiobooks.

Les Miserables (Abridged) - I've seen the broadway production a few times and my wife read the book years ago and told me it was good. I've been meaning to read it for years. It seemed like it would be good to listen to (during my commute), and it was. The story is involved enough to make it interesting, but not so complex that it was difficult to keep it straight from day to day. And the story is excellent, truly a classic. And the writing was surprisingly vibrant and relate-able (I saw surprising because it's an old book, 1862). The themes are universal, yet personal and meaningful. This really is a book everyone should read. And it works well as an audiobook. (It has no US copyright, so you can read it for free, although it's unabridged and very long. I recommend an abridged version.)

A Walk In The Woods - This is the third Bill Bryson book I've read (1, 2). He has such an easy-going, conversational style I was pretty sure this would be good as an audiobook. And it was fantastic. I laughed at least once almost every drive. It's the amusing story story of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Bryson does his homework - the book is peppered with facts and historical details. It gets weaker toward the end, but still very much worthwhile.

Presently I'm listening to Peace Like A River. Some of the subject matter seems odd, but I'm enthralled by the splendid writing. I'm torn - I should read this book so I can really soak it up, but I'm into the story now and look forward to it each drive.

Audio Dunces & Morrie

Taking ques from dug (1,2,3,4) and The Junkie (1,2,3), I decided to try an audiobook.

Year ago we listened to a Harry Potter audiobook (yes, on cassette) on a family drive to California and we all enjoyed it. But this audiobook would be for my 25 minute commute.

I selected A Confederacy Of Dunces. This book has been on my list for a while, and when I saw it was available on CD at my local (Orem) library, I checked it out.

I used to listen to The End in the morning (the Chunga show is fairly amusing) and scan stations for good songs on the way home. But I grew tired of this routine (and the lack-luster music these days).

Then I switched to NPR. It was a good change. A wide breadth of news topics, good reporting, intriguing and off-beat stories - interesting content and less junk.

Then came Hurricane Katrina and NPR dutifully covered this unarguably big story. And they kept covering it after all the other news outlets had moved on - OK, I admire NPR for sticking with an important story. Then they continued with way too many Katrina stories for way too long - when one would come on I'd look incredulously at the radio and say (sometimes out loud) "More Katrina? Are you kidding me? There are other things going on in the world." My favorite listener comment during this time was: "All Things Considered? More like All Things Katrina Considered."

Then NPR covered the Financial Crisis ad nauseum, and my NPR love affair was over. I still like NPR, I just can't count on it for day-in, day-out listening. I need to mix it up.

Which bring me back to the audiobook. It was a new experience, so that alone made it interesting. A Confederacy Of Dunces is a good story with inventively odd characters (Ignatius J. Riley is a hypocritical blow-hard that is surprisingly entertaining as the lead). I liked how new characters were introduced slowly and skillfully woven in. The writing is excellent. And the narrator, Barrett Whitener, does a good job bringing the characters to life with a variety of voices - it was like listening to a one-man play.

Overall the experience was positive, but there were some problems:

With a book I control the pace - I can read slow to really soak in the words, or read faster to keep the story moving, or skim to get the general gist through parts I don't like. With an audiobook the pace is set. Sure, I would rewind if I'd been distracted or wanted to hear a part again, but this disturbs the flow of the story more than reading at a varied pace, at least for me it did.

With the audiobook my retention was lower. With a book I'm seeing the words and saying them in my mind and this double exposure makes the words and ideas more memorable. With only listening they didn't stick as well (and I'm at least slightly distracted by driving). Perhaps others don't have this problem, but I do.

So for me I'm going to select audiobooks that are good stories with lighter writing. Several times listening to A Confederacy Of Dunces I wished I were reading it instead. I wanted to soak in the skillful writing (I'm considering reading the book to see how much I missed). Fortunately I think there are plenty of good books I would enjoy as audiobooks. I just need to use this experience to inform my selection.


I also finished reading Tuesdays With Morrie. This is a short book with a big punch. Here's the bottom line: Can we learn something from an exceptional, self-actualized person who focused on connecting with people throughout his life and is now confronting his imminent death with dignity and a desire to teach us what he's learning from the process? I did.


I'm now reading Quantum Zoo, a book about quantum physics and relativity. This will not be a quick read.

Recent Books

Before I get to the books ... Tonight my wife said something she thought she'd never say: "Please do a blog post." What prompted this? The hideous photo of me dressed up for Halloween. I must admit, while it seemed funny at the time, post-Halloween it's disturbing. My chubby, pasty, hairy gut is an affront to all that is good and decent. (I can't believe I didn't get razzed in the comments for it.) The purpose of this post is to push the Halloween post down where it won't be seen.

Now to the books. I've read a few recently. Here are my reviews:

Founding Brothers - First a story. Last Fall I yearned for something new to read, so at lunch I stopped by a bookstore and asked a 50-something guy there what he recommended. Those of you who are more literary will probably view this as a rookie mistake. He showed me several books and I selected Founding Brothers. I immediately discovered this is not a light read. It's dense and precise. It's obvious the author knows this subject deeply and he works hard to craft each long sentence to convey the exact meaning and tone he intends. But this level of exactness is tiring and I put this book aside 4 times for other books. A less stubborn person would have dumped the book, but this book was my choice, and I paid money for it - not like some library loaner. So my pride compelled me to finish it. Well last week I finished it and I felt pleased I'd stuck with it. No, that's not true, I felt relieved to be done with it.
My twisted motivations aside, I'll try to give an impartial review. The author is obvious an expert in Revolutionary history. His ample command of language allows him to accurately convey his assembled picture of the scenes and the people involved. His insights into the events, motives, and personalities is fascinating. Consequently I gained a deeper understanding of a handful of key Revolutionary events. But the reading is slow going with long sentences filled with big words. Often I got to the end of a sentence only to realize I'd read the words but not soaked in the meaning, so I'd read it again. A good book, but it made me work and sometimes I resented that. Dug listened to the audiobook - that's the way to go as it would be a stimulating lecture.

Big Bang - From the title you'd expect this book to be a long, dry explanation of the big bang theory. But it's really a fascinating history of astronomy, cosmology, physics and other sciences that led to the theory of the big bang. I thoroughly enjoyed this book (disclaimer: I dig science), although the epilogue was a bit too philosophical. Also, some of the examples were not needed as the explanation was enough (but they are easy to skip).



The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Good writing, good story - I liked this book for what it is. Tough to do this kind of story without it being too sappy, sentimental, preachy - he mostly pulls it off. Some good ideas and food for thought.

We watched the made-for-TV movie based on this book with Jon Voight and it was pretty good.




The Book Thief - I liked the staccato writing style, the Nazi Germany setting and the unconventional 3rd person storytelling. Is kindness all that really matters in life? Possibly.

It was a freezer book for dug, and I agree with that.






Now I'm reading Angels And Demons. Everyone I asked liked it. So far it's a roller coaster ride like The Da Vinci Code. I'll finish it in a month - yeah, I'm a slow reader. I need to try some audiobooks for the commute, as dug and Mark have recommended.

Watchmen Review

LEGSHAVE Challenge update: I feel I owe an update to those who donated. Since the first leg shave on February 15th, I shaved again on the 20th for the trip to Arizona. It was kind of nice to ride with smooth legs, but I didn't notice it that much. It was a bit easier to clean the rash on my knee after the crash with shaved legs - but cleaning wounds with hair isn't that bad so I still don't count this as a good reason to shave. The stubble on my legs is long enough now it isn't prickly or itchy, but they still look clean. This weekend is the Rampage race so I'll be shaving soon as promised.

I first started hearing about Watchmen about a year ago when the movie was in production and some teasers came out. I foundlearned that Watchmen is critically acclaimed as one of the best graphic novels (aka comics) so I bought it and started reading.

This is essentially my first graphic novel. It was an interesting experience. Like half way between a book and a movie. I mostly focused on the words but noted the illustrations as I went along and noticed the details and nuances that served the story.

I must say the artwork is fascinating. Expressive and bold. And there is a LOT of it - I'm amazed one person could draw so many frames. And it's not just quantity - every frame is loaded with detail and expression.

The writing and story has that pulp feel (there is sex and graphic violence), but not so strong as to repel the casual reader like myself. Plenty of depth with multiple intermingled plots, some fun twists and strong ties to the cold war era. It's weird that I've forgotten so much about how the cold war felt and Watchmen brought a lot of that back for me.

The characters are fascinating (if superheros aren't interesting, something's wrong). They have depth and humanity - they weren't just larger-than-life, one-dimensional do-gooders.

Ironically I'm less interested in the movie having read the book. It would be fun to see these characters and scenes "made real", but Watchmen will be difficult to adapt to film and frankly I doubt it can be done in a satisfying way. And Hollywood doesn't have a great track record with intricate fiction like this.

P.S. I took the book with me to Arizona and read it for 2 hours at the airport and on the plane. I admit I was self-conscious about reading a "comic book" in public.

Reviews: Planet Earth, Naked Economics, Bobke II

Planet Earth is an 11-part series of absolutely stunning nature cinematography. Co-produced by the BBC and the Discovery Channel with a budget of $25 million and shot completely in hi-def, the result is a true work of art. The first episode, Pole To Pole, introduces the series then each episode portrays a different habitat: Mountains, Freshwater, Caves, Deserts, Ice Worlds, Great Plains, Jungles, Shallow Seas, Seasonal Forests, Ocean Deep.

I rented the BBC DVD set from the Orem Library and was mesmerized as I watched African Hunting Dogs setup an ambush, Great White Sharks attacking seals in super slow motion, Birds Of Paradise perform their flamboyant mating displays, the freakishly giant crystals of Lechuguilla Cave, intimate footage of the elusive Snow Leopard in the Himalayas, and much more.

Following each 50 minute episode is a Planet Earth Diaries segment showing how some of the shots were accomplished. A gimbaled camera aboard a helicopter, days sitting in blinds, tracking camels - it was amazing what went into capturing these images.

My only complaint was the audio mix - the narrator, David Attenborough, was too quiet (or the music too loud).

Hours of gorgeous imagery, stunning scenery and fascinating animal and plant life. Watch it, buy it, rent it now. Get the Blu-Ray hi-def version if you have the player for it.

Naked Economics takes you beyond the (oversimplified) basics of Econ 101 but still keeps the concepts clear and fairly easy to understand. The academic nature of economics has filled it with an arcane language (almost like law) that presents a barrier to the lay person, but Charles Wheelan translates and boils it down to the essential concepts. A timely read for our currently troubled economic climate, this book helped me understand economics so I can better evaluate the current problems and the proposed fixes. Recommended.

Bobke II is the follow-up to the original Bobke which is out of print, rare and quite expensive. It wanders and feels like pages from his journal torn out and plastered into a book. Bob's style is unique and feels incoherent, but just go with it and enjoy the wild ride.

Some of his stories, and the way he tells them, are hilarious. His story about being constipated during a stage of the Tour Day France and how he remedied the problem had me laughing so hard I cried.

This book is not a monument of literature, but most cyclists will find it entertaining. Recommended for cyclists. (How did I miss this in my review of cycling books? I've added it now.)

Cycling Books Reviewed

Over the years I've read a few cycling books. Here's what I thought of them:

Lance Armstrong's War - My favorite of the bunch. The author is a free-lance (pun!) writer who has covered a variety of sports and outdoor topics, but never cycling. This turns out to be a good thing as he brings fresh eyes and ears to professional cycling and soaks it up with few preconceptions. And what good timing - the 2004 Tour de France. It's not a perfect book, but the writing is good and I loved all the details he reveals. Like the custom of cyclists greeting each other by pinching the mid-section to gauge the competitor's body fat, and how they analyze butts to see who's in peak condition.

It's Not About The Bike - Basically the Lance biography. Blunt and revealing. When Lance tells you cancer treatment was worse than the most miserable day on the bike in freezing rain up some never-ending mountain, suffering all the way - you get it: cancer is really bad. I'm not sure anyone really knows Lance, but this is what he wanted to say about himself so it's at least a piece of the puzzle. And pretty good reading - I enjoyed it.

True Fans - This is actually a book about basketball that happens to be more about a coast-to-coast bike ride. A group of three guys (from Provo, Utah incidentally) decide to bike a basketball across the country and deliver it to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The experience (touring, camping, meeting people) is what makes the book. It reminded me of when I was young and more adventurous. BTW, the author made a film about the adventure first. Both Jolene and I read the book and liked it, but we watched the film recently and thought it was pretty bad.

Bobke II is the follow-up to the original Bobke which is out of print, rare and quite expensive. It wanders and feels like pages from his journal torn out and plastered into a book. Bob's style is unique and feels incoherent, but just go with it and enjoy the wild ride. Some of his stories, and the way he tells them, are hilarious. His story about being constipated during a stage of the Tour Day France and how he remedied the problem had me laughing so hard I cried. This book is not a monument of literature, but most cyclists will find it entertaining.

The Race - This was local (Salt Lake City, Utah) athlete (including cyclist) and author Dave Shields first book. The story is inventive and engaging, and even features some Utah locations. But while the writing is earnest it is unpolished and unsophisticated, especially the dialog. An internet writers forum helped Dave shape this book, and perhaps it helped him learn to write better, but the mix of styles give the book an uneven feel. Still, the story was worth the clunky writing.

The Tour - Dave Shield's second book continues the story of the cyclist Ben Barnes from The Race. It shows marked improvement with one style and tone that flows much better. The writing is better - still a bit sophomoric, but it gets the job done. The story is surprisingly sophisticated, realistic and fairly deep.

The Yellow Jersey - A frustrating book. I love the quote plastered across the front cover from Bicycling magazine: "The greatest cycling novel ever written." If this is true then I should stop reading cycling novels now. The book starts out introducing you to the main character, a pro cyclist who's past his prime. Annoyingly, the introduction goes on and on with only little snippets of cycling. The author has a flair for writing, marred only by an excessive use of British slang (1970s?) that I often didn't understand. The story takes too long to get going with too many tangents - bragging coarsely about his womanizing, complaining about this and that, etc. But when the author gets into the cycling, especially The Tour, it's very good. I thought the ending might redeem the book, but no - in a big way. There were a few too many things I didn't like about this book so I can't recommend it, but I can see that others might enjoy it.

Book Review: A Short History Of Nearly Everything

A few days ago I finished reading Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything (the main reason for the spotty blogging over the last 2 weeks). It's more accurately a short history of science. Bryson has gathered a lot of information and conveys it in an accessible, clear and memorable story form - as dug aptly puts it, "like he's sitting with you on the beach".

At over 500 pages it's a fairly long book (hey, it is about "everything"), but it's neatly divided into chapters that cover one topic and the chapters are grouped into sections so it's easy to read just one chapter if you're short on time, or a whole section. There are some threads that start in early chapters and pop up again later so you're rewarded for reading all the way through, but it's not necessary.

The Introduction didn't thrill me - it's too cheeky for my taste and doesn't set the proper tone for what's ahead. And Section One is on the dry side with not much new to me. But Section Two is outstanding as it tells the stories of early "scientists" and their wild theories, strange experiments and just plain oddity. Sections Three, Four and Five are also very good, with a few lulls here and there. Unfortunately the final section (Six) ends the book with a whimper as Bryson grapples with the complexity and competing theories of human evolution - he tries to make sense of it, but there just isn't yet enough evidence and agreement to tell the story.

I often felt awe and wonder as I considered the complexity and order found all along the scale, from subatomic particles, to atoms, to bacteria, to cells and multi-cellular organisms, to the planet Earth, to the Solar System, to galaxies to the universe and the big bang. It's amazing how many systems have to function properly for us to be here and alive each moment. Truly inspiring.

In my opinion Bryson found just the right balance between reducing the complexity of each field of science to an understandable picture, yet not dumbing it down. He also seems forthright in pointing out areas where there is still disagreement and things we just don't know. I get the sense Bryson did his best to be plain and truthful.

I enjoyed this book. I was looking for something to feed my brain and this book did not disappoint. I highly recommend it. If you have the slightest interest in learning about science, and science history, you should try this book as I can't imagine a more gentle yet fulfilling overview.

P.S. I read the illustrated edition from the city library - it was nice, but not necessary. In fact, only a few of the illustrations substantially added to the text, although it was interesting to see portraits of many of the scientists. Be aware the illustrated edition is heavy and wasn't very comfortable for lounge-about reading.