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Young Adult Non-Fiction
- Hard Science
- History
Title: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time Author: Stephen Hawking Rating:  Excellent!
Publisher: Bantam Books Reviewed by: Maurice A. Williams |
 
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Would you like someone to explain in words you can understand what is the big bang, a black hole, the current thinking of astronomers? This new, updated revision of Hawking's original, non-illustrated book will do it. The original version already was a superb, easily understood explanation of how scientists have viewed the universe since early history down to the most recent discoveries. Stephen Hawking has a knack for writing in a conversational style. My first exposure to "A Brief History of Time" was audio tapes narrated by Michael Jackson, not the singer, but an Englishman with a beautiful English accent. The clear wording that flowed so easily made me think the tapes contained a special rewording of the book. Discovering that the words on the tapes were identical with those in the book surprised me. This new illustrated version adds beautiful diagrams and photographs that make Hawking's easily understood book even more easily understood. Teen-age readers will be able to follow the main lines of reasoning in this book. Hawking does not get into math and minute detail. He presents a history of theories about the universe and what discoveries prompted refinement of existing theories or development of new theories. Hawking organizes his book to describe how modern astronomers understand time. Like length, breadth, and width, time is the fourth dimension of the universe. The universe began when all matter in the universe exploded out of an infinitely small amount of space: the "big bang." Before the big bang, time did not exist; hence, the title "A Brief History of Time." Hawking describes how time started when the universe started and how the universe has changed with time. Scientists believe the universe has been expanding ever since the big bang. Hawking also describes current projections of what will happen in the future. Will the universe continue to expand? Will it stop expanding and find a fixed size? Will it eventually reverse direction and begin a long collapse causing all matter to condense into an infinitely small space: the "big crunch?"
Stephen Hawking's charming sense of humor greatly enhances
his excellent description of scientific thought. I think
this is "must read" for anyone interested in stars, black
holes, gravity, the forces of nature--anything about the
universe. I think it is "excellent" for other readers.
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