Book 4 - Neither Here nor There

I was first introduced to Bill Bryson with his book "A Short History of Nearly Everything". It may have been the first science history book I read and now this is one of my favorite genres. Here is a list of science history books I have read (or listened to the audio book of) since:

1. A People's History of Science by Clifford Conner
2. The History of Money by Jack Weatherford (science of currency)
3. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (highly recommended)
4. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (should be mandatory reading for everyone)
5. The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond (should be mandatory right after previous one)
6. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (interesting in parts but you can skip it)
7. Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne (Good but Greatest Show on Earth is better)
8. The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking
9. The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager (If you think climate change is bad, our negative impacts on the nitrogen cycle are just as scary)
10. The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager
11. The Monkey's Voyage by Alan de Queiroz

My second Bill Bryson book was "A Walk in the Woods". This was a delightful book about his failed attempt to walk the entire Appalachian trail.

"Neither Here nor There" was my third Bryson book and probably not as good as the other two (although I've read them at different times in my life so its hard to be sure). The writing details his attempt to recreate a trip through Europe that he took as a young man shortly after high school. Most of the descriptions are about his newer trip as an older man, with occasional recollections of the 1st tour. It is one of his 1st books and also contains more vulgarity than the other two I have read (which I don't mind of course and actually found it to be quite humorous). I think that it is meant as a different style of travel book that doesn't just list places to go and sights to see, but offers a frank impression of city styles, cultural attitudes, and the ability (or lack of) to inspire awe. Though the book was not as fun as the other Bryson works I have read, it did make me want to travel and experience some of the same sights and sounds. Furthermore, since his trip took place in the early 90s, he had no cell phone to call for directions or help or to instantly connect with his family back home. He also had no internet for trip planning and relied on finding vacant hotel rooms only after reaching his destination. Both ideas seem so out of place in today's society, so foreign to our current thinking, that the story imprints an antiquated sense in the mind of the reader. Events that took place so relatively recent feel like a different age, a different generation, a time so long ago that history books have almost forgotten it. These are "back in my day..." stories, stories told by your great grandfather.