Absolutely Everything! (Audiobook)

This audiobook is so perfect for homeschooling families, and parents who want to introduce the entire history of the world in an easy to understand format. It covers everything from the Big Bang to the present day. That is obviously a lot to cover in less than 8 hours of audio, but each topic is given enough information to get the general overview of the topic. 

The chapters are broken up into short segments of about 20-30 minutes that are the perfect size for a history study each morning/evening. There is enough detail to give the general idea about the historical time period/topic discussed to grab a child's interest and lead to jumping off points for further research on the subject. 

The narrator (who is also the book's author) makes the subjects even more interesting. His enthusiasm and inflection were so engaging. It was easy to want to keep listening because he brought the topics to life. My kids overheard me listening and asked me to restart the chapter because they wanted to know "how the story started." That is a true testament to how strong the narration is. It does feel like listening to a storyteller with how easy it is to listen to.

The hardcover of this book already holds a place on our homeschool shelves, but we will be adding the audiobook as well. They complement each other well and the audio truly enhances the book's information.  I think this is a must buy for parents who want their child to be engaged with their history studies through the interesting topics and the top-notch narration.

Christopher Lloyd’s narration of this book makes the abundance of facts irrisistable and completely compelling and impossible to turn off.  I am learning so much and could listen to him for hours.

This is an incredibly comprehensive yet condensed history of (as the title implies) everything.
Lloyd goes back to the very beginning of everything and makes his way to modern times while giving information on topics from biology to history and so many other things in between that I could write a thousand-word essay on just what gets talked about in this book. 
It's one of those books that gives you a little bit of information on a myriad of topics so you can always have an interesting fact on hand to impress others or so you can know where to start looking further into something that interests you. 
The way everything is presented is also very jovial and even a little bit playful, so you never really feel like you're starting to tune out from droning like one is won't to do when being talked at. The audiobook lacks the images to go with what's being presented, but it more than makes up for it with how delighted Lloyd seems at sharing all this information with listeners. Also, the English accent plays into the wise professor image that has been drilled into us by popular media and makes this an even better listen because of it. Although, I admit to cracking a smile at how he pronounces some of the names of things. Took me a couple of tries to figure out Maya. 
Overall, very informative, very easy to listen to, and very well presented. This is definitely a good book to have on hand for when you're feeling like you want to learn something but don't want to do it in a boring way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and What on Earth Books for the read/listen.

Wow! I can't express enough how much I loved this book! I received an audio copy through NetGalley and my family and I all listened to it together. While I believe it is technically a book for youth, it is 100% a book that everyone should read. It is a concise history of absolutely everything, and zooming back through time it is very interesting to see how much Earth has changed, and how it is very much the same after so many thousands of years. Author, Christopher Lloyd (no, not THAT Christopher Lloyd), includes a lot of material in this compendium, chock full of intriguing stories on how the earth came to be, the history of wars, climates, animals, cultures, inventions, and so much more. You name it, this book has ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!