A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Brysonby Bill Bryson
Shares rank 33 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Readers recommend it as a great read that shows how scientists missed what was under their noses.
Readers recommend it as a great read that shows how scientists missed what was under their noses.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Highly recommended by commenters
“I'll just list them while saying that they all come highly recommended by me.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Great read
“It's a great read and shows all the ways in which scientists failed to see what was under their nose”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “430k-year-old well-preserved wooden tools are the oldest ever found” Shows overlooked scientific failures
“It's a great read and shows all the ways in which scientists failed to see what was under their nose”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “430k-year-old well-preserved wooden tools are the oldest ever found”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella Meadows | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| A Short History of Nearly Everythingby Bill BrysonThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'll just list them while saying that they all come highly recommended by me.”
“It's a great read and shows all the ways in which scientists failed to see what was under their nose”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.