Stephen Hawking: Concepts of Time

A Book Review

A Briefer History of Time

Authors – Dr. Stephen Hawking with Leonard Mlodinow

Hawking

• The former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the university of Cambridge –  the chair held by Isaac Newton in 1663
• Director of Research at the Institute for Theoretical Cosmology
  at Cambridge,
• Diagnosed many years ago with ALS at the age of 21, he was given only 2 years to live.

Mlodinow

• Physicist
• Has written for Star Trek: the Next Generation

Bantam Dell, Random House 162 p.

Having one of the most brilliant minds in the world, Stephen Hawking continues to amaze the world with his scientific explanations of all Creation.

In this shortened, more readable/accessible version of their book,  A Brief History of Time, Hawking and Mlodinow once again probe the nature of space and time. Written for the general public, this effort is a successful attempt to target pockets of interest within that market. Two such areas are “relativity” and “curved space.” In the process, however, Hawking and Mlodinow have actually expanded some of their explanations  in order for them to be more easily understood.

New, colorful graphics are an excellent addition and short, enticing chapter titles, like “Newton’s Universe”, “Wormholes and Time Travel”, and “Quantum Gravity”, quickly draw the reader into what the authors have to offer. But if you are a veteran student of this subject matter, you may not find anything new.

Click here to find this book online.