A Brief History of Time

Rating:
Summary: A poor performance
Review: This review pertains to the audio version done by Michael Jackson. I have wanted to read A Brief History of Time for many years, and finally got to it. I was disappointed. The first few chapters were bad enough. Although I understood the early material, since it was a review of past theories, the way Mr. Jackson handled the reading was annoying. He would speed up his reading, then slow it down for mysterious reasons. I started to wonder if he was having trouble understanding the words. Then every once in a while he would snicker at something, apparently trying to make Hawking's occasional dry wit into roll-on-the-floor laughter. By about the third chapter I was seriously considering quitting the whole thing. Only the fame of this book kept me going. The middle chapters were more satisfying, but toward the end when he got into string theory, which I really don't understand, I began having serious problems with Mr. Jackson's lack of feel for the material. He would rush through a long, rather complicated sentence and I would have to rewind and listen to it again, then stop so I could think about what it meant. I kept wishing he would slow down, but he never did, except when he stumbled over a word.

The other thing that would have really helped this recording is if he had started each new side of each tape with a repetition of the previous sentence or two. The previous audio book I listened to did this, and it was really helpful for getting my bearings, especially since I only listened in my car and there were several hours (or sometimes days) between tapes.

All in all, I would not recommend this tape. Try a different one or read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Complex universal Issues Simplified :)
Review: This book is the updated version of the international bestseller, so any praise on my part will surely be redundant. As such, I will just summarize what you get with this book: a fascinating intro to major physics theories (including Newton's, Einstein's general relativity, and quantum theories), and a brief overview of cosmological mysteries (including big bang and black holes). As anyone even vaguely familiar with Hawking knows, he's got a knack at making even the most abstract ideas sound remarkably simple and interesting. This book is accessible to anyone, regardless of your academic background (you will understand most of it even if you've never taken a single physics course). If you ever wondered about the physical world around you or the universe at large, you will not find a better introduction anywhere; if however, you're already well read in the subject, head straight to the more in-depth look at essentially the same concepts and more found in Greene's 'Elegant Universe.'

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Fascinating
Review: If you want to find out the mysteries of the universe, this is the book!

Rating:
Summary: A Hawking Classic
Review: Stephen Hawking is one of if not the most prominent physicist on the planet today, and works like A Brief History of Time make it easy to see why. Hawking knows just about everything about modern physics, hence the lofty title. From time travel to black holes to general relativity, quantum mechanics and even string theory, he never fails to captivate and galvanize.

The strongest sections in the book are probably those on black holes and time travel, so if you are interested in either of those areas, you would be doing yourself a favor by buying it. The whole book is highly stimulating, though, so even just a casual interest in science would be well-fed by any chapter. In fact, for those of you who are only mildly involved with or intrigued by modern scientific theories, A Brief History of Time just might push you over the edge and make a fanatic out of you.

With the addition of literally dozens of illustrations per chapter, Hawking has made his book extremely readable and colorful, both comprehensive and comprehendable. Yet there are some topics covered inside that are simply too complicated for many people to understand. How black holes can emit radiation even though nothing can escape their surfaces is discussed, for example. (The answer: a particle and its antimatter counterpart can, according to quantum physics, spontaneously emerge out of nothingness very near to the black hole's event horizon--anywhere else they would collide and erupt into pure energy, but near the event horizon one is sucked into the black hole and the other escapes. In this sense black holes are like "matter factories", causing new matter to enter the universe out of nowhere. Pretty weird and confusing stuff.)

The only other quibble I have with this book is that it is too short! That just attests to the quality of the book, though. It was a very worthwhile read for me; it will be for you, too.

Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Endeavor into Fantastic Physics
Review: Stephen Hawking has not only shown us that he has an amazing mind, but he has also shown us that he is a skilled writer. This book was made for the person who has ever wondered how our knowledge of the natural world has changed since Aristotle. Hawking moves beyond simple history and describes the concepts in physics that have daunted the layman for years. The paperback version that is not illustrated is good, however like most people I am able to comprehend the more difficult aspects of quantum and classical physics when I have beautifully done diagram. This is why I feel that The Illustrated Brief History of Time is worth every penny. The Brief History of Time is also probably one of the easier reads in the field of phyiscs.

Rating:
Summary: A Book, A Treasure!
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. Right now I'am only in 9th, but after reading this book I was able to answer quetions about astronomy that were meant for 11th and 12th graders or above! I was able to impress my freinds and my physics teacher by the knowledge I gained from this book. I came to know the depth of astronomy and everything is written so well that even a 6th grader can understand it. I t will slash open your mind and reveal to you the unknown. Don't ever miss this book. Go for it. BUY IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME, COOL, SUPERB!!!!!
Review: This is the best book to read. I impressed my friends and teachers by my knowledge about astronomy which I gained from this marvellous book. Every word breaks through mind and makes you feel like a real theorist! Every thing is explained really really well. I would devote a thousand stars to this book! I would request you all not to think twice before buying this book which has got a knowledge worth a million dollars. IT IS REALLY A BOOK TO READ AND DIGEST. READ IT!!!!

Rating:
Summary: SUPERB!
Review: I read this book and marked it with a 5 star. Superb! I'm not going to add anything else to the other reviewers' comments since I think it's all said. What I do want is to put forward my opinion as to certain biblical-related topics quoted in Stephen Hawkings' work.
There is the question of what there was before the Big Bang. In fact, there was nothing, physically speaking. But there was already the Spiritual Universe (read GENESIS 1,1), where God has been reigning forever, for His kingdom is eternal. There was the Spiritual Universe, the real one (incredibly, but this is so) and from there God created all what we see, the Physical Universe, with space and time, since it was His wish just for the Physical life to be born, evolve an eventually die out, as if it were a work of art in motion. It's like a play in a theatre, its director being God, the scenery being the galaxies, stars, planets, etc., the rules -by which the plot is carried out- the laws of physic and the forms of live, wherever they are, being the actors. This is clearly expressed throughout the Bible. Of course, in the Spiritual Universe, the physical laws that govern our Universe don't exert any effect in the least, so there is neither space nor time. Saint Peter talked about this: "But, beloved, be no ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (1 PETER 3,8). Of course he must have repeated Jesus' words, and Jesus did prove to have strong powers over the laws of Physic and know a lot about the Spiritual world. Eventually, I can add there is strong scientific evidence of the existence of spiritual life, mainly through the so-called Science of Sofrology (Please read Favio Zerpa's work on this issue: "Morir es volver a casa" -"To die is to come back home"-, Colección nuevo saber, Argentina, 1993).
As to the end of the Universe, there is still the doubt whether it will expand forever or finally collapse in a Big Crunch. Saint Paul seemed to have the answer to this dilemma. Inspired by the Holy Ghost, he said: "And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Thy hands: they shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shall Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail" (HEBREW 1, 10-12). Fascinating!
I've looked through the chapters of " the Illustrated a Brief History of Time" time and time again, and the more I read them and get scientific knowledge, the more I believe in God, in His greatness and wisdom and the more I learn how small we human beings are!

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Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: A Brief History of Time effectively summarises the probable past of the universe, the probable future of the universe by giving due respect to the many suggested theories of the scientific world of today.

Hawking can bring across complex ideas of space and time and the theory of general relativity by relating them to every-day occurences. Not only that, his book is sprinkled with bits of humour every now and then in the book.

This is a book for those who are intrested in the hoo haa that the scientific world is making, has been making and will make for a long time to come. Do give it a read and it will definitely broaden your perspectives in life and in cosmology.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome! Easy to understand!
Review: Stephen Hawking's, who is considered by many to be the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Albert Eistein, presents the material from his bestselling work "A Brief History of Time" in a format that non-brilliant people can easily comprehend. Hawking's says that just flipping through the book and looking at the pictures will help anyone to grasp many of the fundamental concepts of physics. This is a testament to the wonderful illustrations and diagrams throughout the book that truly help the reader understand the principles outlined. But I would strongly recommend that everyone read this book in its entirety, as it is an important work that will most likely influence one's thinking about the universe. The beginning of the book is spent outlining the ideas and people that have brought the science theories to where they are today. Material includes information on the theories of gravity, mechanics, relativity. Next, Hawking spends time discussing black holes and the big bang theory. I found both of these chapters fascinating and very easy to understand. The chapter about the big bang, entitled "The Origin and Fate of the Universe," really supported my belief that God created the universe, i.e. "In the beginning..." From the start, Hawking explains that all of science is merely theory and cannot be proven. This has as of late been my problem with science; how do we actually know anything that happened in the past when we can't and never will be able to observe it? Towards the end of the book I found Hawking's "theories" farfetched and unbelievable, although they were interesting. The information on wormholes and time travel seemed absurd to me -- how can time travel be possible when it is impossible to travel at speeds faster than light? Wormholes are not a reasonable explanation. Hawking's suggestion of a ten-dimensional world also went a little beyond science. In any event, these chapters did not take away from the book.
An interesting added feature of the book outlines the personal lives of three great scientists -- Einstein, Galileo, and Newton. I found this short section very insightful.
Throughout, Hawking weaves the concept of the quest for the "unification of physics," or combining the theory of relativity with the theory of quantum mechanics. Hawking's closing words in my opinion imply how futile our attempts to fully understand the world we live in are. "If we find the answer to [the unification of physics,] it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we would know the mind of God." Perhaps this is the strongest message Hawking delivers, and ironically it has nothing to do with science, rather the vast greatness of God.