Bill Bryson gives an account of how civilization ended up where we are and how we discovered all of this, in his book. This book ties everything together from the creation of the universe to our current understanding of formation of life, the rise of civilization, gravity, geology, chemistry, discovery and understanding of things like particle physics and so much more. It mentions the tales of the various people who discovered these things, many of whom never gained the recognition they deserved. Focusing on how these various discoveries of earth came about, who were the scientists who made these discoveries, Bryson sets off to answer these questions. With Bryson's humorous and witty manner, this book talks about some of the colourful characters of scientific discovery. Read it for an insightful, easy-to-follow and entertaining science book.