Rating: 
Summary: Decent Read, Despite Its "Unauthorized" Status
Review: I purchased this book in May of 2002 and read it only just now, so I missed the "controversy" surrounding it until it was too late. Evidently the great contemporary physicist Stephen Hawking gave this series of lectures at Cambridge, but their transcription and publication was done against Hawking's wishes/without his consent. In any event, the lectures are fairly easy to follow and understand, which is a much-appreciated feature for those of us less-than-nimble-minded-folks when it comes to physics.Most of the subjects in the book are touched on only briefly and in what one can safely assume as extremely watered-down, so the more scientific-minded among us are likely to be disappointed. For the rest of us, Hawking explains various subjects just enough for us to have a rough outline of them, that is, he takes the uninformed reader just far enough to catch a glimpse of contemporary conceptions of, inter alia, black holes, quantum mechanics (most notably string theory), and time, without having one's eye begin to glaze over. In any event the book presents Hawking's style and wit nicely. My own guess is that Hawking is upset that something he never intended to be published is indeed now published, that is, he never wanted rather casual remarks about this or that in a sense "codified" in print (although portions of it are written and appear elsewhere), but I quite liked it. (Another possibility is that Hawking isn't getting paid for this book, or isn't getting paid enough, but again, only Hawking really knows.) It is true, however, that on Hawking's website he politely asks that we not purchase this book, so the choice is ours. Minus the "controversy" surrounding this book, I'd probably give it four stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Do NOT buy this book! - NO stars
Review: I'd give this zero stars but Amazon won't let me... From Stephen W. Hawking's website: IMPORTANT NOTE
It has come to our attention that the book "The Theory of
Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe" has been published. Professor Hawking would like to make it clear that he has not endorsed this book. The text was written by him many years ago, however the material has already been published in books such as 'A Brief History of Time'. A complaint was made to the Federal Trade Commission in the US in the hope that they would prevent the publication. We would urge you not to purchase this book in the belief that Professor Hawking was involved in its creation. Since I'm unable to include the URL for Professor Hawking's website, e-mail me and I'll send it to you...
Rating:
Summary: Do NOT buy this book! - NO stars
Review: I'd give this zero stars but Amazon won't let me... From Stephen W. Hawking's website: IMPORTANT NOTE
It has come to our attention that the book "The Theory of
Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe" has been published. Professor Hawking would like to make it clear that he has not endorsed this book. The text was written by him many years ago, however the material has already been published in books such as 'A Brief History of Time'. A complaint was made to the Federal Trade Commission in the US in the hope that they would prevent the publication. We would urge you not to purchase this book in the belief that Professor Hawking was involved in its creation. Since I'm unable to include the URL for Professor Hawking's website, e-mail me and I'll send it to you...
Rating:
Summary: Hawking he has not endorsed this book
Review: IMPORTANT NOTE
It has come to our attention that the book "The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe" has been published. Professor Hawking would like to make it clear that he has not endorsed . The text was written by him many years ago, however the material has already been published in books such as 'A Brief History of Time'. A complaint was made to the Federal Trade Commission in the US in the hope that they would prevent the publication. We would urge you not to purchase this book in the belief that Professor Hawking was involved in its creation.
Rating:
Summary: The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Univers
Review: It has come to our attention that the book "The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe" has been published. Professor Hawking would like to make it clear that he has not endorsed this book. The text was written by him many years ago, however the material has already been published in books such as 'A Brief History of Time'. A complaint was made to the Federal Trade Commission in the US in the hope that they would prevent the publication. We would urge you not to purchase this book in the belief that Professor Hawking was involved in its creation.
Rating:
Summary: JUST BECAUSE
Review: Locked as he is in his encyclopedia of cosmology, Stephen Hawking, spends too much of the book positing the question: "Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?" The answer he proposes is "just because." Hawking is obsessed with knowing the mind of God which he seems to equate with THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. Yes, he may succeed in uniting quantum uncertainty with gravity but knowing all the physical laws may not make it any easier for man to live or survive. I would describe this little treatise on the origin and fate of the Universe as his attempt to create a universe with soul. He is much like his idol Einstein who couldn't accept a universe appearing out of the random throw of the dice. Although Hawking complements Wittgenstein as being the most famous philosopher of the 20th Century, he pays no heed to Ludwig's admonition to stick to the analysis of language. Thus he fashions the analogy of a universe like the surface of a world globe-with two additional dimensions-to suggest that initial boundary conditions are not required. Hawking takes his own metaphor literally. Therefore, there is no need for any agency to have created such a universe. If Hawking's no boundary universe is correct then he says the creator would have had little freedom or no choice in establishing the initial conditions. He paints the creator in the image of Hawking-a God who discovered a Theory of Everything. He may as well have concluded that the universe with all its TOEs or GUTs is a self designed entity. Still the book is good material for sci-fi writers who would explain that imaginary numbers and realities are the good stuff out of which the universe is constructed and reality may only be virtual reality.
Rating:
Summary: Read the "author"'s opinion on this book !
Review: Pr. Hawking gives this opinion on this book ! The policy here is not to give URLs, so just search for Pr. Hawking homepage on the web and you will know... I quote : "We would urge you not to purchase this book in the belief that Professor Hawking was involved in its creation." I suggest that you instead buy "A Brief History of Time" which is a terribly great book ! My comment on New Millenium Pr (publisher) is that it looks like they have little scruples... Who would try to make money on a disabled person ?
Rating: 
Summary: A Series of Fantastic Revelations.
Review: Reading this book took my breath away.I learned more from reading 'THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING" than from four years of college.this is the greatest book on ever written in its field.I was amazed at how understandable it was.Brilliant!
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction, but somewhat oversimplified.
Review: Stephen Hawking's The Theory of Everything is a short book that can act as an introduction to the subjects of cosmology raised by modern science, but the book is only that; I preferred his Brief History of Time to this work because it was longer, more detailed, and covered more ground. If you are looking for a very basic introduction to the current thinking of astrophysicists, this is a good book; if you really want to wrestle with the subject at length, you should buy a Brief History of Time, or one of Paul Davies works, such as About Time. If you are looking for a good lecture series on physics, Richard Feynman's Six Easy Pieces and its sequel, Six Not So Easy Pieces is really the finest of this genre. That being said, the book does a good job in outlining the basic subject matter, discussing the development of the Big Bang theory, and the implications of both the general theory of relativity and quantum physics on the formation of the universe. Hawking is at his best when discussing singularities -- the points of the universe, such as black holes, where the laws of physics break down.
Rating:
Summary: Great book on the Universe.
Review: The book is a serie of lecture by the author at differrent time. It gives an idea of several basic things about people who are interested in learning about the universe to the students of the subject. His explantion is quite clear and easy to understand. It also explains time travel. If you are interested about the universe and don't know where to start. This is a book you can begin with and that's how I see it.
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