The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell - Two Books in One
by Stephen Hawking
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The book was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe, but since that time there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's show more beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring his original text the new knowledge revealed by these many observations, as well as his most recent research, for this expanded edition Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on the fascinating subject of wormholes and time travel, and updated the original chapters. This edition is enhanced throughout with more than 240 full-color illustrations, including satellite images, photographs made possible by spectacular technological advances such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and computer-generated images of three and four dimensional realities. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
(A Brief History of Time)
A great account, and probably a good place to start into the world of modern physics for people with a background of such things. Probably not the easiest book to understand, but neither should the question of when and how does the universe begin and end be for the faint of heart. On the other hand, I don't think that Hawking here presents as much insight as one would've liked, and I am not sure if we all are so interested in knowing that he's keeping track of who's winning the Nobel Prize and who isn't (himself?). I find that bit a little annoying at times.
A great account, and probably a good place to start into the world of modern physics for people with a background of such things. Probably not the easiest book to understand, but neither should the question of when and how does the universe begin and end be for the faint of heart. On the other hand, I don't think that Hawking here presents as much insight as one would've liked, and I am not sure if we all are so interested in knowing that he's keeping track of who's winning the Nobel Prize and who isn't (himself?). I find that bit a little annoying at times.
This special double-book volume contains Professor Hawking’s updated and expanded edition [a new chapter on wormholes and time travel] of “A Brief History of Time,” all prepared to give readers the latest understanding of cosmology and the search for the heart of time and space. Filled with graphics, illustrations, and photographs, readers will find much to ponder as they travel through the magnificent wonders of the universe. Also included are mini-biographies Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton and an extensive glossary.
“The Universe in a Nutshell” seeks to reveal the secrets of the universe to the reader through an understanding of relativity and the shape of time. It goes on to discuss predicting the show more future, protecting the past, and an interesting look at whether or not our future resembles the one depicted in “Star Trek.” Again, charts, illustrations, and photographs accompany the narrative; an extensive glossary and suggested reading list follows.
There’s much to learn here, much to consider; Stephen Hawking’s inimitable style ensures readers will find both works comprehensible and intriguing. Take a journey through ages of scientific discovery with these extraordinary books that should be on everyone’s must-read list.
Highly recommended. show less
“The Universe in a Nutshell” seeks to reveal the secrets of the universe to the reader through an understanding of relativity and the shape of time. It goes on to discuss predicting the show more future, protecting the past, and an interesting look at whether or not our future resembles the one depicted in “Star Trek.” Again, charts, illustrations, and photographs accompany the narrative; an extensive glossary and suggested reading list follows.
There’s much to learn here, much to consider; Stephen Hawking’s inimitable style ensures readers will find both works comprehensible and intriguing. Take a journey through ages of scientific discovery with these extraordinary books that should be on everyone’s must-read list.
Highly recommended. show less
I know Hawkins dumbed it down for us commoners but I still got lost. It was understandable to some extent but it didn't take long for me to get lost and just end up flipping through the pictures and graphs.
This book is as good as its previous account, the brief history of time, or maybe better. This book makes use of the previous knowledge from the brief history and expands it more by adding more descriptive comments and interesting examples of theory of the universe. Although the book was great, it became more and more complex near at the half.
This was a wonderfully informative book. It was written so that it's fairly easy to understand also.
A great overview of many interesting scientific principles for those of us who would love to understand physics and can't.
beautiful book, handsome font and great diagrams
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133+ Works 54,840 Members
Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. He received a first class honors degree in natural science from Oxford University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. He was a theoretical physicist and has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University from 1982 until his death. In 1974, he was show more elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific organization. In 1963, he learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neuromuscular wasting disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease confined him to a wheelchair and reduced his bodily control to the flexing of a finger and voluntary eye movements, but left his mental faculties untouched. He became a leader in exploring gravity and the properties of black holes. He wrote numerous books including A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, Black Holes and Baby Universes, On the Shoulders of Giants, A Briefer History of Time, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design, and Brief Answers to the Big Questions. In 1982, he was named a commander of the British Empire. A film about his life, The Theory of Everything, was released in 2014 and was based on his first wife Jane Hawking's book Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen. He died on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- First words
- A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. -- The Illustrated History of Time
Albert Einstein, the discoverer of the special and general theories of relativity, was born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879, but the following year the family moved to Munich, where his father, Hermann, and uncle, Jakob, set up a sm... (show all)all and not very successful electrical business. -- The Universe in a Nutshell - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Here he used his talents for deviousness and vitriol in a more socially acceptable way, successfully conducting a major campaign against counterfeiting, even sending several men to their death on the gallows. -- The Illustrated A Brief History of Time
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)That is the universe in a nutshell. -- The Universe in a Nutshell - Disambiguation notice
- This work contains both THE ILLUSTRATED A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME and THE UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL. It should not be combined with either individual work.
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- Reviews
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- Languages
- English
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- ISBNs
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- UPCs
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