A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow
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Book Reviews of A Briefer History of Time
Book Review: Brief, but Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
In A Briefer History of Time, Stephen Hawking does an amazing job introducing many difficult physics related topics in only 142 pages. He takes concepts such as relativity, time, and quantum theory and simplifies them to a level that is more comprehendible to the average person. Although he is able to break down the concepts to a simpler level, many of them are still difficult to grasp because of how brief the book is. I still did learn an extraordinary amount from this book.
Hawking's first book A Brief History of Time, is a best seller with over nine million copies sold, but too difficult for many people to understand; A Briefer History of Time fixes that problem. Though it still is difficult to understand in many concepts, the language that he uses is simple and easy to understand. He constantly gives examples to back up theories and statements, which make them more comprehendible. He compares today's theories with the theories of great physicists in the past, tracing the evolution of physics.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I am not a huge fan of reading, but I found myself glued to this book. Hawking does such an incredible job making quantum theory, relativity, and other concepts understandable. If you are looking for a book that is a good introduction to these topics, then this is the last place you need to look. This was the first Hawking book that I have read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. On top of everything else, Hawking is funny. He incorporates humor, albeit very dry, into his reading, which makes it even better I think. I highly recommend this book to anyone!
Book Review: Brief, informative, enjoyable
Summary: 5 Stars
As the almost forgotten Mr. Rumsfeld observed, there are known unknowns and then there are unknown unknowns. Some of us are curious enough to at least wonder about the former. Most of the rest of us lack the time or the dedication or, let's admit it, the intellectual capacity to take the hard journey to the frontiers between what we know or we believe we know today and what's on the other side - and the frontiers are moving farther and farther away from us. It takes a down-to-Earth genius like Stephen Hawking to give us a guided tour to the current limits of human knowledge and back and we can even get a hint of what may be lying across the border. It's a high altitude flight and very little experience is necessary for us to follow our guide but, when it's over, most of us are likely to agree that we gained a better understanding of the world in which we live than we had before we started reading. Unless we are string theorists ourselves, of course :)
I found the book to be relatively easy to read, interesting and informative. Even the little digressions into Newton's 'real' character (not a very nice person) were welcome. It is, indeed, a history, in the sense that it maps the human understanding of reality as it grew and evolved in time.
In the end... I still have no idea what TIME really is (does anyone?) but I enjoyed reading the book because, many time, I had the feeling that 'aha, I DO understand this now'.
Book Review: The Best Physics Book I Have Ever Read.
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many people who have come to know Steve Hawking I have little to no actual academic training in physics but have found the subject quite interesting my entire life. I first read the original printing of A Brief History of Space and Time as a child and was immediately hooked on the subject. Since then I have read the rest of Dr. Hawking's works in addition to a number of others and while some may be more controversial or startling I have found few who are both as informative and well written as this one. His ability to break down advanced concepts in the study of space time and ultimately the existence of our universe allows for a broad audience to develop a better understanding of the debate which is currently raging in the halls of academia. This updated reprinting continues in that fashion while bringing in the tomes of new information and data collected since the original went on the shelves. For anyone interested in physics I would defiantly recommend it, if you're a little worried that it might be in over your head try his other book, the Universe in a Nutshell which tries to break these concepts down even further. Although ultimately not as detailed or informative it's a great stepping stone to A Briefer History of Time and Black Holes and Baby Universes.Book Review: It does what it says
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're not a mathematician or a ohysicist, you're not going to spend a lot of time wrapping your head around the concept of strings that possibly have 26 dimensions. That said, this book will describe string theory, particles, the expansion of the universe, and general relativity in about as much detail as the average lay person can handle without making a career out of it. I am very interested in these topics myself, and love hearing about discoveries in the news, etc., but never really sat down and read a book that summarized it all in a way that made me feel I had a grip on all of the basics. In other words, I had heard of string theory, but only in second-hand accounts from people who might not have understood it themselves. And although I often heard that Einstein said it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, I never understood the mechanics of why that is. This book informed me exactly to the point where I felt I had understood the general concepts, and stopped short of going into the level of detail that would require lots of math on a chalkboard. In keeping the subject matter limited to a clear understanding of the basics, the authors also managed to make it a quick, enjoyable read.Book Review: laymen's
Summary: 5 Stars
A little more of the same. This book maybe is written a little more in language that the average Joe can get into the mindset of Stephen Hawking. I have almost every word Stephen has put to print. His tenacity despite his handicap inspires me.
This book is still very good reading for anyone, not just the scientists.
Where did we come from? How did we get here? How long will it all last? What, how, when, where did it begin?
Was there a supreme being at the controls? Is there another "you" living in a "brane" a billionth of an inch away? And, will we ever get the ultimate answer, the proven theory of everything? Time before and at the beginning of time!