This book should be mandatory in high schools and colleges and present in every home ... Seriously documented and based on a bibliography could not be more rigorous, Bill Bryson develops his skills outstanding popularizer and makes us enjoy her devastating humor to help us question our own priori about the world around us. More than a history of ideas that led to our most advanced perception of the universe and the birth of life forms, it is truly an introduction to epistemology a cheerful about the future development of human knowledge. Reading "VO" bonus allows to fully savor the delight of the author (not scientific) when discovered ideas and conflicts that glazed the emergence of the contemporary theories of cosmology and fundamental physics, biology, paleontology , theories of evolution etc ... The French translation (excellent) only partially achieves that refund.
