Bill Bryson – A Short History of Nearly Everything

I’m only halfway through this 500 page behemoth, but it explains in very simple terms for very simple people like me the nature of and people behind, as the title implies, nearly everything to do with science. One of my favorite lines, about carbon – “It is the party animal of the atomic world, latching on to many other atoms (including itself) and holding tight, forming molecular conga lines of hearty robustness.” I can understand that. Go ahead, give it a read.