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Summary:
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Great book
Customer Rating:
Very informative and fun to read. Gets a little hard to understand at times because what Hawking is trying to explain is not trivial at all, but he does a great job at explaining it.
Great Book
Customer Rating:
This book provides an excellent description of the history of physics and the current status of physics. Hawking is quite good at making extremely complicated subjects (such as quantum theory) comprehensible for the average person, although some topics could have been explained a bit better. It is also quite interesting to be reading it from Hawking's perspective because he adds a personal touch to the subject and often includes details about his own research in certain areas of physics. The book often talks about God / a creator and how it might tie in with the beginning of the universe and other aspects of physics, but Hawking never shows any bias towards or against religion; he only talks about it in a purely scientific manner (for example, he explains why some scientific theories about the beginning of the universe actually need a creator in order for them to make sense).
Overall it was a very interesting read and I highly recommend it.
Easily readable and incredibly enjoyable
Customer Rating:
This is a popular science classic that cannot be left outside any general astronomy/physics bookshelf.
Dr. Hawking explains, with the mastery of an able writer, the history and structure of the known universe, non-euclidean geometry, the laws of the small and of the large, the laws and fate of stars, black holes and singularities, and the very matter that builds us. It finishes with an argumentation about time, following the second law of thermodynamics, and mixing it with information theory (though not explicitly stated).
I personally love this book and, in my opinion, its a star (of the popular science books), as the material it is built from used to be.
Transport yourself into possibility.
Customer Rating:
This book absolutely recreates the wonder I felt looking at the stars as a child. Stephen Hawking has a knack like no other I have read in the science world of transporting the reader to a realm of humbling amazement and possibility. Pure genius bubbling over with dry humor that will never fail to raise a smile as your senses burn with curiosity for our elegant and beautiful universe. I've had this book for years but it is still a favorite that I can't wait to share with my own son.
Highly recommended to everybody interested in Astronomy and Nuclear Physics
Customer Rating:
Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest contemporary physicists explores in a very interesting and informative way the unresolved riddles about the universe and the structure of particles, energy, time, gravity, various forces in the universe, god and their relationship with one another. His approach is both scientific and philosophical raising questions about the meaning of human existence in the universe. Although quite detailed the questions raised and alternative explanations offered are appealing both to the amateur and the professional. Stephen Hawking approaches the fundamental issues from many aspects including Newtonian physics, Special and General Relativity of Einstein, Quantum physics, string theory etc. He compares the different approaches, explains how they arose historically and the quest for a unified theory of the universe. Of course he devotes a lot of time to the primary issue of the creation and possible end of the universe. His treatment of matter and antimatter are especially interesting. I had read the book many years ago, recently I listened to the audio CD. I recommend both as a rich source of knowledge about these topics from a leading scientist on these issues.
I also recommend The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Green which is also a very interesting exploration of the same issues.
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