A Brief History of Time

This book covers ideas that are profound and affect everyone. It explains theories that concern the creation of the universe, time travel, light-speed travel, and many more topics. Imagine actually having some grasp of Einstein's general relativity. Ever heard of string theory? How might time travel actually be possible? What are these black holes of which I've heard? This book packs an incredible amount of information into its 248 pages, yet somehow is still easily read - this is the true marvel of this book.

The illustrated version is worth the extra money. It contains many updates and additions throughout the book by Hawking (including the time travel chapter!). Every (and I mean every) concept throughout the book is accompanied by at least one illustration - think about it: 240 color illustrations with only 248 pages!

Towards the middle of the book, some of the concepts get more complex (when he really gets into the details of sub-atomic particles). However, as a recent high school graduate, I can say with some level of certainty that the average person can understand 90% of this book - and those parts are the most interesting! It will change the way you look at the universe.


Thinking Great Enough to Match the Cosmos   April 29, 2002
Patrick Shepherd (San Jose, CA USA)
16 out of 35 found this review helpful

For anyone looking for a great, comprehensible explanation of the current state of the theories driving today's physics, this is it. Hawking has taken everything from the early history of thinking about the universe, its laws and composition, to the latest developments on black holes and string theory and placed it in a remarkably lucid set of explanations that detail the concepts behind all the mathematics that is so intimidating to most. This book is written without a single equation or a single statement on the order of "From the above, it is obvious that..." Instead, we proceed from the (comparatively) simple concepts about the everyday observable world of gravity, planets, and stars, travel carefully along the historical path of scientific observations as they modify and enhance the simple theories till we reach the world of quantum mechanics, the big bang, wormholes, and Grand Unified Field Theories. Each concept is fully explained, and with this expanded second edition, many of the concepts are beautifully illustrated with drawings and photographs.

And, possibly surprising to some people, as we enter the rarified air of today's theories, we see that the line between physics and philosophy is a very thin one, and ruminations about the origin of the Universe lead to discussions about God and fate. Here we see why Hawking is one of the premier physicists of today, as he obviously thinks in same kind of conceptual language that this book is written in, capable of looking at the meaning behind the mathematics and how it relates to us as humans.

Physics students and engineers may not find very much new here, but even they may benefit from the clear thought lines presented here, forcing a look at the meaning behind all the esoteric symbols that are their everyday working fare.

About the only quibble I had with this was Hawking's insistence on writing out very large/small numbers as million-million-million... While this was fine the first couple of times it becomes a little irritating in place of the standard 1,000,000... representation, or even better to use standard scientific notation.

A great elucidation of some of the most complex theories of the day, theories seemingly unrelated to your everyday life, but which are in fact the bedrock upon which today's technological marvels are based, and with implications that catch the nether regions of religion and the questions we all have about the meaning of life and the universe.


Better than the original   May 13, 2002
Graham Hamer (ACHERES France)
21 out of 38 found this review helpful

I read the original version of 'A Brief History of Time' back in 1988. At the time, Hawking was into ground-breaking territory. The fact that his theories have gained such universal acceptance and that many of them have since been proved is evidence of the brilliance of the mind that thought through the logic.

In this updated version, Hawking moves from time travel to black holes to general relativity, quantum mechanics and even string theory, he never fails to captivate and entrance, even though some of the theories are difficult to grasp.

The sections devoted to black holes and time travel are, in my view, the most interesting... putting a human slant of a highly theorical subject. With the addition of hundreds of amazing illustrations and photos, Hawking has made his revised book extremely readable and colorful, both comprehensive and comprehendable, as one reviewer put it.

An excellent introduction to relativity, big bang, and anything else you might have scratched your head about!


Wondrous Nature Of The Universe Explained To Laymen!   August 5, 2003
Barron Laycock (Temple, New Hampshire United States)
11 out of 30 found this review helpful

For those of us who were actually curious enough to actually open the covers of this remarkable exposition of very sophisticated scientific concepts laid simpler and comprehensible in Professor Stephen Hawking's disarmingly straightforward style, update and expanded original version of the originally published text is indeed a veritable treasure trove of layman's explanations for some wondrous scientific phenomena. Hawking, who is still a Lecturer in Physics at Cambridge University despite an progressively debilitating neuro-muscular disease, has a rather unique capability to eschew anything other than the bare minimum of all the otherwise stupefying scientific mumbo-jumbo as he explains various aspects of the expanding universe as black holes, the nature of time, the so-called "big bang", and then again, even the phenomenon of gravity itself. Hawking addresses the fundamental nature of physics as he proceeds to sift through these fascinating and long enduring mysteries of the universe.

As a result, then, his somewhat rhetorical questions are presented for the single purpose of elucidating some interesting, provocative, and fairly indisputable answers to the nearly timeless ponderings we all seem to harbor about this wider world we all inhabit. Still, one's consciousness seems to struggle in vain to consider the sheer scale of such conceptual configurations, with concepts that appear to be so immense and so dislocated to anything within our common experience while absorbed in our ordinary day-to- day time-space continuum as to give any among us a pregnant pause while contemplating the nature of the universe. Of course, such a realization merely serves to magnify the sheer scope of the author's accomplishment in conceptualizing and executing such an approachable and accessible text, one that so vividly describes the origins and nature of our universe. This is a marvelous book, and one I can heartily recommend. Enjoy!


This is not your father's physics course   December 20, 2006
Stratiotes Doxha Theon (Richmond, Missouri)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book will forever dispell any thought that physics is a dull old-man's subject. Dr. Hawkings still carries that little-boy enhtusiasm that will make you love theoretical physics. His descriptions are clear while never diminishing the great wonder of a complex universe. He opens our minds to a universe we thought we knew but have hardly seen. A great resource to feed the inquisitive soul.