A short criticism

[urbpan]

I'm about a quarter the way through Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Does anyone else think that Bryson spends an inordinate amount of time and ink scrutinizing the warts of scientists?

Comments

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

I think he's trying to balance out the tendency to deify scientists. I'm not sure that he's going about it in the right manner, however.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

Not at all - I thought his writing was hysterical, clever, and very readable.

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I also agree with Mr. Pan.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

If you've read other books of his, that's really just Bryson's style - he's very irreverent. I think part of the point was to make this an interesting science book for non-science types.

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

I think he's trying to make it more accessible to the layperson, really...I mean, it's hard to rhapsodize about how saintly somebody was and keep them interested, but if you're going on about how somebody insists on taste-testing all their chemicals...that's interesting!

[bdot.livejournal.com]

his book on the history of english is really good....

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

Are those capybaras? Squeeeee

[bdot.livejournal.com]

yup! mommy and baby.... i actully just made the icon today! feel free to snag it... i have no idea where i got the original photo from tho.

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

Ok, cool. Thanks! =)

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

I haven't read A short history of nearly Everything yet.

I love scrutinizing warts! I think that it's a good idea to find out whose offering up the green potion but as it is a history, it's probably already been drunk...

Any howwwwww, Bill Bryson is my boyfriend and you DONT GO DISSIN MY BOYFRIEND!

[interglossa.livejournal.com]

Bryson has always written non-fiction but it is interesting to see this in the context of the trend of fiction writers to write about science and scientists to recapture readership (I am thinking of David Foster Dulles and David Leavitt, but there are others). Such are our times...

[agelena.livejournal.com]

I see Bryson as primarily a humorist, albeit a very well-rounded one. Warts are generally funnier than....not-warts....umm...smooth skin....ummm......hell. There's no good way to finish that metaphor.

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

I didn't have any problems with it (his one on Australia is also very good)

I think it was The Bluffer's Guide To Science that described Newton as not just feet of clay, but pure kaolin from the neck down....