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An Outline for a Book Report: A Short History of Nearly Everything

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Bryson, Bill. A short history of nearly everything. New York: Broadway Books, 2003.

II. Summary of the Main Ideas 1. Subject: Bill Bryson is writing about science and the discoveries we have made into knowing about the universe, and the earth's existence. 2. Occasion; Bryson had written A Short History of Nearly Everything, because, Bryson had felt that “[The science book] wasn’t exciting at all” (5), therefore he hadn't liked science verymuch. Until, one day he had wondered how did they know that we had layers to the earth when we have never traveled far enough down to know. That is when he had set out on a journey to expand his limited knowledge of the universe, and science. 3. Audience: Anyone with an earning to learn.…show more content…
Moreover, Bryson show the significance of the human race, by chronologically showing the discoveries we have made in seeking scientific knowledge. He states that science has always been a trial of errors and discovery by accidents. For instance, Bryson explains that Marie Curie ultimately gave her life up for science when working with radioactive chemicals to widen the knowledge we have know (109). In the last chapter of the book, Bryson does conclude that humans are “awfully lucky” (478) to have been able to survive for this long, even though we have only been apart of earths exist for 0.01 percent of it, and to be able to use our minds to achieve such knowledge about the universe and the earth.

2. Ethos: Bryson establishes himself as a relatable person whom did an excruciating amount of research to find knowledge. Throughout the book, Bryson uses very influential people to support his research. Such as when he is talks about Albert Einstein who founded the Theory of Relativity, and was able to explain how radiation works (122). He also speaks with experts on subjects of specific fields, like when he was speaking with Paul Doss about how Yellowstone park is “the largest active volcano in the world” (228). Continually, Bryson is creates a persona by using humor to make the text more appealing. For example, Bryson states how scientists of different field tend to hate each other, and use the example of Wolfgang Pauli’s wife had left him for a
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