Published in 1988, A Brief History of Time set out to explain the frontiers of cosmology to general readers. Hawking was told that every equation would halve his sales, so the book contains only one, Einstein's relation between mass and energy. It went on to stay on bestseller lists for years and sold many millions of copies.
Hawking moves from early ideas of the universe, through Newton and Einstein's theories of gravity and relativity, to the expanding universe and the big bang. He explains quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle, the life and death of stars, and black holes, including his own discovery that they should emit radiation. Later chapters consider the arrow of time, wormholes and the quest to unite relativity with quantum theory.
The book is short but dense, and many readers find its middle chapters challenging. Its appeal lies in the clarity of its big questions and in Hawking's personal voice, including his hope that a complete theory might one day let us understand why the universe exists. An illustrated edition and the later A Briefer History of Time aimed to make it more accessible.
Book details
| Author | Stephen Hawking |
|---|---|
| First published | 1988 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Popular science |
| Type | Non-fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 210 |
Themes
- Origin of the universe
- Black holes
- Nature of time
- Quantum theory and gravity
- Unified theory
Who should read it
Anyone curious about cosmology who wants the big ideas explained by one of the scientists who shaped them.