Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything"

Wow, what a brilliant book. I have always enjoyed Bryson's hearty travel books but he's really blown me away this time with his rivetting account of everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation. This book should be on every school's reading list because it makes physics, chemistry, biology and geography and all those other cob-webby text book subjects come alive like I'd never have thought possible. Brims with strange and fascinating facts that make you gasp and contemplate, I can't recommend this book more.