First half of the book changed my life, and second half is merely good. I wrote a full review [0], and eight years later, that first half has become one of my favorite reads ever.
Oh yes! A Short History of Nearly Everything is really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it (Bill Bryson can write funnier than anyone I've read, apart from P.G. Wodehouse). I would just add a caveat that I read it first in junior high and it blew my mind. Maybe for someone who is read up a bit more, it might not be as mindblowing.