As I've repeatedly mentioned over the years, every time one of the casual-readers tells me I have to read something, like Harry Potter or the DaVinci Code, I dig my feet in deeper and resolve to never read it. This is one of the occasions I should have shaved a decade off of my stubbornness and caved in right away.

The author answers the questions, how and with whom, we arrived at the scientific knowledge we know today, and what those results are. The book very briefly discusses the evolution of the cosmos and our planetary system and in more details the evolution of planet Earth and its living organisms. We also see that the field of science, like in any other field of profession, is full of greed, deceit, and bitterness. Waller, John (June 21, 2003). "Everything you've ever wanted to know (but didn't dare ask)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017 . Retrieved June 30, 2018. The "Grown-Ups" version is one of my favourite non-fiction books, so reading the children's version to my 6 and 8 year olds as bedtime reading was a no-brainer. Everyone needs more understanding of the world around us and the history of science is sadly neglected in our schools ('much more important than the history of monarchs). Staff of BBC Focus (July 2006). "How to... Make a Mint From Science". BBC Focus: 54. {{ cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= ( help)This is one of the few books that has truly challenged what I had previously held to be conventional wisdom (at least in my own mind). Two main changes have come about:

falsity of the science (most blatantly around cosmology, but not limited to any one field) and misunderstanding of scientific principles; In the introduction, Bryson recalls his childhood and remembers how he was fascinated by the image of a cross-section of our planet, but at the same time put down by the nature of the book that contained it. The dry presentation of the facts, that were accompanied only by a set of exercies to test the gained knowledge, puzzled him. How did these people know how our planet looks from the inside? And who exactly were they?

A large part of the book is devoted to relating humorous stories about the scientists behind the research and discoveries and their sometimes eccentric behaviours. Bryson also speaks about modern scientific views on human effects on the Earth's climate and livelihood of other species, and the magnitude of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and the mass extinctions caused by some of these events. In Part 1, “Lost in the Cosmos,” Bryson explains how a universe like ours is formed: all of the matter in existence is compressed into a tiny, dimensionless area and then undergoes a rapid expansion (or “Big Bang”), creating all the space that exists as it spreads out. The Big Bang theory, along with “inflation theory” (the notion that the universe is expanding), were formulated in the 20th century. Bryson emphasizes how the conditions that formed our universe were extraordinary: if one small factor had been different, life as we know it would never have come about.