Product Description

In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #775289 in Books
• Published on: 1990-12-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
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

From AudioFile
In his narration Michael Jackson changes his rhythm and volume, sometimes laughing with asides, while talking of the Big Bang, negative energy, and the elusive unified field theory. He also demonstrates a facility with a plethora of scientific and mathematical terms. If we can forgive him for pronouncing the "p" in Ptolomy so many times, we find he adds a pleasant vitality to a scientific audiobook. Hawking, an expert on space-time, quantum mechanics, and black holes, is far too smart for most of us to understand, but this abridgment, with the help of the narrator's positive spin, gives an idea of how such a great scientist, long afflicted with Lou Gehrig's disease, thinks and writes. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Ingram
Was there a beginning of time? Will there be an end? In this landmark volume, Professor Hawking shares his blazing intellect with nonscientists everywhere, guiding us to confront the supreme questions of the nature of time and the universe. Hawking, who has earned an international reputation as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein, shares the story of his ultimate quest for knowledge.