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Summary: This is a wonderful book.
Review: If thinking is your gig, this is a book to start the music.
Rating: 
Summary: A significant educational experience
Review: I am the first to admit I didn't understand it all, but for the first time, because of this book, concepts of theoretical physics that made my eyes glaze over and my head spin have become at least accessible, due to Hawking's unique gift for simple direct prose and communication at the level of the audience. It is also a marvelous thing to take a step back from the humdrum of our everyday lives (what's for dinner? what's on TV?) to ponder, if only briefly, concepts such as space, time, relativity, and so on. Hawking is as much philosopher as scientist, and if you want to read something that will open your eyes to things you may not have really thought about before, this is it.
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Summary: A great gift for your pseudoscholar friends
Review: Scholarship is great. But you know what? Most real scholarship is rare and is probably incommunicable. Enter a book like this with wonderful color illustrations, a writer with a reasonable sense of humor, and a text that gives if you work on it. Yes, I said work. There is no other way. Books have to be read; it is the only way of discovering what they contain. Worst luck, it takes time and energy. But the rewards are great and will include your being a welcome asset at dinner parties, especially those parties that discuss the origin of the universe, the nature of matter, the distortion of space-time by gravity, and the possibilities of time loops working backward.I read A Brief History of Time, the first book by Stephen, and found much repetition in this his follow-up book. And like a dummy I paid full price at the local Barnes and Noble for The Universe in a Nutshell when I should have ordered from Amazon. After reading the book and rereading it, I ordered three as Christmas gifts for my children. I wanted to share with them the knowledge that: 1. The universe is awesome. 2. Our current understanding of the universe is awesome too. And 3. This masterpiece by one of the awesome physicist-mathematicians of our time is awesome as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Landmark in Science Education!
Review: In his book, The Universe In A Nutshell, acclaimed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking presents some of the most complex ideas of modern science in a way that is as enjoyable as it is informative. The book is also copiously illustrated in order to provide the reader with a better understanding of concepts that are better explained with pictures rather than words.
Hawking is a naturally gifted teacher and his gifts as a professor shine through even the most difficult theories. Hawking most important asset as a writer, however, is not his towering intellect, but his excellent sense of humor. Throughout the book, Hawking uses interesting antidotes that help to explain the topic at hand while keeping the reading interesting and involving. Through his excellent use of humor, Hawking provides abstract facts and figures in a way that is instantly accessible to everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Universe In A Nutshell. Anyone with an interest in physics, science, or just curious about the world in which they live should give this book a try. Not only can it be enjoyed as an informative and entertaining read, but this publication can be placed alongside the encyclopedia as a reference to almost any science-related questions. It is this reusable value that makes this text well worth the price of the purchase.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING
Review: As a high-school physics teacher, I have used "A Brief History of Time" as a secondary text, to introduce tough physics concepts to my students. The problem I have had in the past is that some of the answers in BHOT lead to tougher questions from my students. Thank God for this new book. I can now answer some of these tough questions. The incredible illustrations mean I can even show the students what the answers LOOK like! Thanks to Dr. Hawking for this awesome follow-up to BHOT.
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Summary: Hawking has dumb ideas
Review: Hawking's book puts forth dumb ideas in some fancy language. For instance, he advocates the big bang theory - a theory which has been proven to be bogus. He claims every bit of matter in the universe was compacted into the size of a pea. Then one day, everything explodes and we have the universe. The big bang could not have possible. If it were true, all the planets should be currently spinning in the same direction. Venus, however, spins totally opposite of most planets. His ideas are based on the religion of Evolution. His book is nothing more than boring science fiction.
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Summary: Very nice illustrations...that's all!
Review: I definitely did not like this book. It is basically a list of names of past and recent model theories of the Universe. Very far from true popularizers of science authors like Sagan, Rusell, Dawkins, etc. the author does not give any explanation of its topics to the amateur nor the specialist. The illustrations are very well done, they are the only pedagogical value although some of them are as difficult to understand as the corresponding text.
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Summary: His best book by far.
Review: In general, I really enjoy Stephen Hawking's easy manner of articulating such complex subject matter. He somehow manages to simplify the origin of the universe, the nature of space and time, and what holds it all together to an unprecedented degree. To those who like this book, I might also recommend Erik Quisling's small classic, "The Angry Clam." Much like Hawking, Quisling's unique insights into the world we live in are simply profound.
Rating:
Summary: A must read even for the novice
Review: Here is a book that I recommend every family own, and especially my homeschooling friends since it is rich with science fact and questions that most science books never address. And it is easier to read than you might think, or understand and is one of those books that you come back to and re-read. Of course I also admit I may be more optimistic that some other reviewers. The chapters cover the whole space of time and how theories have evolved. I would also recommend his Brief History of Time and would caution that even if you don't "get it" all that you will understand enough as you read along, to realize that science need not be boring or "heady" but is an everyday process and that as a human in this time and space we are a part of the overall process. Chapter 1 A Brief History of Relativity
How Einstein laid the foundations of the two fundamental theories of the twentieth century. General Relativity and Quantum Theory Chapter 2 The Shape of Time Einstein's General Relativity gives time a shape. How this can be reconciled with Quantum Theory Chapter 3 The Universe in a Nutshell The universe has multiple histories, each of which is determined by a tiny nut Chapter 4 Predicting the Future How the loss of information in the black holes may reduce our ability to predict the future Chapter 5 Protecting the Past Is time travel possible? Could an advanced civilization go back and change the past? Chapter 6 Life in the Future-Star Trek or Not? How biological and electronic life will go on developing in complexity at an ever increasing rate Chapter 7 Brane New World The way ahead-brane worlds, biography, and the theory of Everything
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Summary: Tough nut to crack!
Review: Let me prefice this by saying that while I have no formal science background, I've always taken a keen interest in so -called "popularizers" of science, especially the late Carl Sagan. Steven Hawking, despite his attempts at humbleness and humor, comes across as a much more scholarly author. Despite the slick and attractive computer graphics which accompany the writing, make no mistake: this is a heavy book in terms of scientific and mathematical concepts, many of which went right over my head.
Obviously in response to those who found "A Brief History of Time" frustratingly obtuse, the publishers have attempted to lighten up the subject with clear colorful illustrations. Still, some of the concepts are difficult to grasp (ie., I now know that time is like a choo-choo train running along a mobius strip, but I still don't get why).
All in all, I enjoyed the ride even if I didn't always understand it all. Also when left sitting out, the attractiveness of the volume makes a tasteful statement, in a "Charley Tuna" sort of way.
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