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Marking the tenth anniversary of a worldwide science classic, this fully updated edition is enriched with a new Introduction by Professor Hawking and an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

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Library Journal Review

A central question underlies this brief but crystal-clear account of the history of physical speculation about the universe: does the universe always operate in the same manner or does it allow for divergence? That the universe is static, as once thought, eventually proved impossible to reconcile with evidence from astronomy, for how could an expanding universe follow unchanging laws of nature? Hawking, along with mathematician Roger Penrose, discovered the answer: relativity theory not only allows, but requires, a big bang. The discussion does not end therethe universe may really be static, the ``big bang'' being local history in only a part of the universebut once again Hawking has proved himself a pioneer. David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Hawking's discovery that black holes emit particles caused great excitement among astronomers. In this succinct overview of current theories of the cosmos, the Cambridge University physicist modestly weaves in his own notable contributions while giving due credit to his colleagues. He explains why relativity implies that a ``big bang'' occurred and examines string theory, which posits a universe of 10 or 26 dimensions. His understanding of time's flow leads him to conclude that intelligent beings can only exist during the expansion phase of our increasingly chaotic universe. New research on black holes and subatomic particles holds implications for scientists who, like Hawking, are attempting to devise a unified theory linking Einstein to quantum mechanics. The merit of this book is Hawking's ability to make these ideas graspable by the lay reader. (April) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

It has been said of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (1983) that it was one of the most bought and least read books. This reviewer believes the same could be said of Hawking's A Brief History of Time (CH, Jul'88). Many people wanted to read it and felt good about buying it, but ultimately ended up putting it on the bookshelf next to Douglas R. Hofstadter's Godel, Escher and Bach (1979), not exactly dog-eared. Now there is this new CD-ROM version. The program requires 8 MB RAM, which will put a bite on quite a few machines; the Macintosh Centris handled it nicely, and the speed of operation was acceptable. The CD-ROM is, for the most part, the electronic version of the text of the 1988 book, with even the same typeface. There are some color graphics, some Monty Pythonesque animation and sound effects, and brief comments by Hawking in his computer-assisted voice. The wonderful turtle story from the opening of A Brief History is done well and is the high point of the program.[p]To begin, the viewer sees an animated Hawking in his wheelchair, in the position of the "command central" of his spaceship. This contrived visual raises a key question: for whom, exactly, is this program meant? It was not always clear to this reviewer which buttons to click, but a more experienced computer user will have no trouble navigating a way round. The problem with this product is rather obvious. The graphics will be of little or no interest to those readers sophisticated enough to understand this text; conversely, those taken with the "flash and dazzle" of the peripherals probably will not be predisposed to sit and read the text at a terminal. (It is still important to slouch and squirm in a comfortable, overstuffed chair to ingest certain types of information.) It would have been more useful if this product allowed one to click on concepts or words, leading to examples or definitions. After experiencing the CD, one is left wondering what is the point?, and again, who is the audience? The added features of this electronic version do not add enough to the reading experience to make this a recommended purchase. Level: general; undergraduate through faculty.

Booklist Review

The famous theoretical physicist best known for his inquiries into the nature of black holes-which, he tells us, ``ain't so black''-turns out to be as skilled a popular-science writer as he is a mathematician. Since time is contiguous with space in physical theory, his subject, as the subtitle implies, is actually the universe. The history so lucidly and absorbingly recapped is of modern physics' attempts to understand how and why the universe exists-attempts that reach ever closer to a single theory that, Hawking avers, if complete and convincing, would enable us ``to know the mind of God.'' Key to such a theory is the resolution of Einsteinian relativity with quantum mechanics, especially the uncertainty principle. Hawking explains both relativity and the quanta before equally intelligibly communicating the synthesizing significance of black hole researches and their impact upon concepts of the origin and fate of the universe. Keenly aware of the layman's fear of math, Hawking eschews formulas in favor of plain-language exposition. The result is probably the best single book on astrophysics for the common reader. Thank you, Dr. Hawking! Glossary; to be indexed. RO. 523.1 Cosmology [OCLC] 87-33333

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. He received a first class honors degree in natural science from Oxford University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. He was a theoretical physicist and has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University from 1982 until his death. In 1974, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific organization.

In 1963, he learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neuromuscular wasting disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease confined him to a wheelchair and reduced his bodily control to the flexing of a finger and voluntary eye movements, but left his mental faculties untouched. He became a leader in exploring gravity and the properties of black holes.

He wrote numerous books including A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, Black Holes and Baby Universes, On the Shoulders of Giants, A Briefer History of Time, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design, and Brief Answers to the Big Questions. In 1982, he was named a commander of the British Empire. A film about his life, The Theory of Everything, was released in 2014 and was based on his first wife Jane Hawking's book Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen. He died on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76.

(Bowker Author Biography)