# A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

3 Hacker News commenters recommended A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers recommend it as a great read that shows how scientists missed what was under their noses.

## Why people recommend it

- Highly recommended by commenters (1 comments): "I'll just list them while saying that they all come highly recommended by me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896133))
- Great read (1 comments): "It's a great read and shows all the ways in which scientists failed to see what was under their nose" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46785442))
- Shows overlooked scientific failures (1 comments): "It's a great read and shows all the ways in which scientists failed to see what was under their nose" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46785442))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-escher-bach.md): 47 recommend
- [Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-fast-and-slow.md): 17 recommend
- [Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-in-systems.md): 17 recommend
- [The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins](https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene.md): 14 recommend
- [Cosmos by Carl Sagan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cosmos.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385609612?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780385609616) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson", https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-short-history-of-nearly-everything/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).