Review of "Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time" on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Explains some very complex subjects in a very engaging way
Hardcover, 208 pages
English language
Published March 1, 1988 by Bantam Books.
4 stars
(221 reviews)
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a book on theoretical cosmology by English physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988. Hawking wrote the book for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics and people who are interested in learning something new about interesting subjects. In A Brief History of Time, Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the Universe, which is the object of study of astronomy and modern physics. He talks about basic concepts like space and time, basic building blocks that make up the Universe (such as quarks) and the fundamental forces that govern it (such as gravity). He writes about cosmological phenomena such as the Big Bang and black holes. He discusses two major theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics, that modern scientists use to describe the Universe. Finally, he …
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a book on theoretical cosmology by English physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988. Hawking wrote the book for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics and people who are interested in learning something new about interesting subjects. In A Brief History of Time, Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the Universe, which is the object of study of astronomy and modern physics. He talks about basic concepts like space and time, basic building blocks that make up the Universe (such as quarks) and the fundamental forces that govern it (such as gravity). He writes about cosmological phenomena such as the Big Bang and black holes. He discusses two major theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics, that modern scientists use to describe the Universe. Finally, he talks about the search for a unifying theory that describes everything in the Universe in a coherent manner. The book became a bestseller and sold more than 25 million copies.
Bean reviewed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Review of 'A Brief History of Time' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" is just that - a brief overview of the current understanding of the universe, and some current theories about how it works and how it began.
I found Hawking's use of analogies very helpful in understanding topics, but few things are thoroughly explained. This left me wanting to know more about the things I did understand, and lacking details that might have helped me comprehend things I couldn't.
Still, it is "a BRIEF history of time", and it serves it purpose well - giving an overview to the layman.
markgalassi reviewed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Review of 'A Brief History of Time' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I should have loved this book because at the time I read it I was working in that area, but I found it barely OK. This is probably a problem with how to present scientific material: it is hard to make everyone happy, and popular works are often annoying to practicing scientists.
On the other hand I have loved [b:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21|A Short History of Nearly Everything|Bill Bryson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320540603s/21.jpg|2305997] and [b:Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem|38412|Fermat's Enigma The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem|Simon Singh|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518732s/38412.jpg|38182], finding them as gripping as a thriller.
I think the main problem with Hawking's book might be that the writing has an awkwardness in taking these long loops around a description, which merges poorly with a certain self-importance. In the end the best thing this book might have done is to give Bill Bryson …
I should have loved this book because at the time I read it I was working in that area, but I found it barely OK. This is probably a problem with how to present scientific material: it is hard to make everyone happy, and popular works are often annoying to practicing scientists.
On the other hand I have loved [b:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21|A Short History of Nearly Everything|Bill Bryson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320540603s/21.jpg|2305997] and [b:Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem|38412|Fermat's Enigma The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem|Simon Singh|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518732s/38412.jpg|38182], finding them as gripping as a thriller.
I think the main problem with Hawking's book might be that the writing has an awkwardness in taking these long loops around a description, which merges poorly with a certain self-importance. In the end the best thing this book might have done is to give Bill Bryson an opportunity to make a pun in his title. (I actually don't know if that's deliberate, but I thought of it immediately...)
Subjects
- Astrophysics & Space Science
- Cosmology
- Metaphysics
- Science
- Universe