All the goods, well told; right from the big bang to the present. Makes me want to turn around immediately and reread this book just to get more of it permanently lodged between my ears. Nicely done Mr. Christian. ( )

If humans shared an origin story rather than a cultural reference point, this would be that story. It's the story of the universe from the Big Bang to the first signs of life to today’s complex societies. It shows how everything is connected to everything else, weaving together insights and evidence from across disciplines into a single, understandable narrative. ( )

buenisimo. muy completo. desde BIG-BANG hasta el dia de hoy en nuestro planetra, pasando por formacion de vida, evolución, etc...

ORIGIN STORY, A Big History of Everything by David Christian (audiobook 12 hours). Reading this book was a bit of a lark in that I have a natural aversion to science. It’s not that I don’t like science, or that science doesn’t like me, but rather, my brain is singularly incapable of understanding all but the most superficial elements of it. Because the publisher described Christian’s book as “A captivating history of the [entire] universe - from before the dawn of time through the far reaches of the distant future,” I was fairly confident it HAD to be superficial. Sadly, there was far more detail than I was looking for, but nonetheless, the book was pleasantly engaging. The book begins at the beginning of time—-an admittedly human construct—-initially describing The Big Bang, and then proceeding to the present where (when) the earth’s human inhabitants are rapidly changing the biosphere in ways that may doom mankind. (NOTE: As I continue to plow through Will Durant’s 11 volume History of Civilization, it was refreshing to read an expansive history largely devoid of battles, artists, murder, religion, intrigue, and lust.) The author describes the latest theories of the cosmos, including the creation of matter and the miracle of life. And by miracle, I don’t mean the product of wizardry, but rather the sheer odds against a speck in the universe having conditions that both induced and sustained what we know as carbon-based life forms. Of course, there is no big reveal about why the universe happened to be: he doesn’t even speculate about that. But the author does describe the relatively short history of life on earth, and describes how an even briefer existence of human life is leading to a potentially dire eventuality. But the fun is in reading about how everything came about, a tapestry of physics, astrobiology, archaeology, molecular biology, economics, ecology, chemistry, societal history, and other disciplines. Students of science will surely understand far more of this book than did I, but I can honestly say that my ignorance did not keep me from enjoying it.


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Very interesting. About the birth of the universe, how life started, and the evolution of humans. Extraordinary how the many necessary Goldilock conditions and energy flows got us to today. At least as good and interesting as Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (and covers the whole period from The Big Bang until today). ( )