In "A Short History of Nearly Everything," Bill Bryson explores various geological time periods that have shaped the Earth's history. He highlights the Pleistocene, which is the most recent epoch marked by significant climatic changes, and the Pliocene, noted for its more recent developments in Earth’s landscape and climate.

The Miocene is described as a moderately recent epoch, crucial for the evolution of mammals and birds, while the Oligocene, though somewhat undefined, is presented as a charmingly vague term for a period just slightly more recent. Bryson's narrative emphasizes the fascinating complexity of geological time and the evolution of life on Earth.