A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking has always been one of my favourite scientists. I’ve always admired him for what he’s accomplished despite his illness. His documentaries and interviews always grab my attention and he never seises to amaze me with his vast knowledge and ability to simplify complex elements of the universe into something a lay person such as myself can understand. This book was originally written for just that lay person who doesn’t know much about theoretical physics or quantum mechanics (basically 99% of the population). I opted to go for the audio book version in this case; I find it much easier to listen at work this way. I own a hard copy but it’s a little tricky, and if I must say a bit mischievous, to read at work.

A brief history of time is not a new book; in fact it was first published in 1988 (the year I was born). Some major advances in technology and theoretical physics have been made since then, but it still remains a monumental book for its transition from a life’s work in understanding the cosmos into simple terms that everyday people like myself can grasp. It has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and was on the London Sunday Times best seller list for over four years.

However If you think this book is going to be a walk in the park, you will be horrifically mistaken. Be prepared to have your brain pushed to its limits. I lost count how many times I had to rewind some parts and stop all other activities I was doing to focus my full attention on the subject at hand. I still don’t really understand the general theory of relativity, but I’ll be dammed if I let it beat me! In saying that there were moments when Stephen laid out complex concepts to which he would explain in the simplest terms. These were my favourite parts of the book, were after listening to an explanation, it felt as if light bulb went off in my head and I just got it. His explanations of the big bang and gravity were simply beautiful and very helpful for a simpleton like me to try and visualise and understand the crucial role gravity plays in our universe.

A friend of mine has brought to my attention that there is another lighter version of this book called “A briefer history of time” which is a little easier to understand. This might be a better option for those of us who don’t have much of scientific background. After reading this book thou I’m contemplating waiting around for the “briefest history of time”! Stephen Hawking remains one of my all time favourite scientist and I look forward to reading his new book “The grand Design”, which from what I’ve heard about it so far seems to be a bit controversial... excellent! If you want to try to understand the universe, if you want to know what science reveals about the big questions, this is the book for you!

Jason