A Short History of Nearly Everything
By Bill Bryson
 
First edition, first impression: London: Doubleday, 2003. Signed by the author in black ink on the title page, inscribed "To Frank and Chris, very best wishes, Bill Bryson".

Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt. With the original pictorial dust jacket priced £20.00 on the front flap.

The binding square and firm, with sharp corners and bright gilt lettering to the spine. Some of the usual toning to the text-block; else a fine copy.

The dust jacket bright and complete, the design showing a schematic globe with assembly-style components. Some light creasing in places to the extremities, but otherwise well preserved and near-fine; not price-clipped.

Bryson's celebrated survey of the history of science, first published in 2003 and widely regarded as one of the most successful popular science books of the early twenty-first century. Written with Bryson's characteristic wit and clarity, it attempts the ambitious task of explaining the development of the universe and human knowledge - from the Big Bang to modern scientific discovery - for a general readership. An updated revised edition titled "A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0" was published in 2025.