Stephen Hawking: His Life and Work

by Kitty Ferguson

In 1963 Stephen Hawking was given two years to live. Defying all the odds, he died in March 2018 at age seventy-six as the most celebrated scientist in the world. This carefully researched and updated biography and tribute gives a rich picture of Hawking's remarkable life - his childhood, the heart-rending beginning of his struggle with motor neurone disease, his ever-increasing international fame, and his long personal battle for survival in pursuit of a scientific understanding of the universe. From more recent years, Kitty Ferguson describes his inspiring leadership at the London Paralympic Games, the release of the film The Theory of Everything, his continuing work on black holes and the origin of the universe, the discovery of 'supertranslations', and the astounding 'Starshot' program. Here also are his intense concern for the future of the Earth and his use of his celebrity to fight for environmental and humanitarian causes, and, finally, a ground-breaking paper he was working on at the time of his death, in which he took issue with some of his own earlier theories. Throughout, Ferguson summarizes and explains the cutting-edge science in which Hawking was engaged and offers vivid first-hand descriptions of his funeral in Cambridge and the interment of his ashes in Westminster Abbey. This is an amazing and revealing tribute, assessing Hawking's legacy in and out of science.

Genres: Biography, Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Astronomy, Audiobook

684 pages, Kindle Edition

About the author

Kitty Ferguson, a former professional musician with a life long interest in science, is an independent scholar and lecturer who lives in Cambridge, England, and South Carolina.

Reviews

[Javier Santaolalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kitty nos acerca la vida de Stephen Hawking a través de esta biografía que repasa, no solamente los momentos más importantes de esta, sino también su contribución científica. Por lo tanto es un libro muy recomendado para conocer no solamente la vida de Stephen sino también su obra, que además es explicada a nivel divulgativo.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's apt that I'm writing this review on the train to Cambridge, Stephen Hawking's home turf. A good few years ago we were taking a young German on a tour of Cambridge. He had no interest in science, but when we saw Hawking trundling along King's Parade in his powered wheelchair our visitor instantly knew who he was. If you ask a person in the street to name the two most important physicists of the last 100 years they would probably name Einstein, then Hawking. Which is odd, because I wouldn't put him in the top 20.

That sounds harsh, but I think Hawking is to physics what Katherine Jenkins is to opera. To the general public, Jenkins is obviously a great opera singer, after all she's always on the TV. But those in the opera world will point out she has never sung a complete role. It's not that she's a bad singer, she just isn't what the public thinks she is. Similarly by saying I might not put Hawking in my top 20 I'm not saying he's not a great physicist. But bear in mind that well over 200 people have won the Nobel Prize in physics over the last 100 years. I'm just saying that most of those who know the field would have to consider Feynman or Dirac or Rutherford or a whole host of others before they got round to Hawking.

Yet Hawking remains a star. I went into Kitty Ferguson's chunky biography of Hawking hoping I would understand this better, as well as getting a detailed feel for his work. The two obvious factors driving his stardom are the remarkable story of his having a full working career despite being told he would die in his 20s of his degenerative disease and his media exposure, driven by the huge success of A Brief History of Time which started the popular science bubble - but would Ferguson reveal more?

It is perhaps telling of the subject that I found myself more interested in the biographical parts than the science. It doesn't help that this is often fairly abstruse - many of Hawking's indubitably ingenious ideas are speculative and at the edge of our understanding, more grounded in maths than real observational science, which gives Ferguson a real challenge in explaining them. On the whole she does well, but the section on the relationship of space and time near the big bang was very difficult to read. I was also a little disappointed by the obvious omissions of explanation, even in something relatively straightforward like Hawking radiation.

Ferguson tells us that black holes lose energy this way, as a virtual particle pair that forms near the black hole can have the negative energy particle sucked into the hole while the positive energy particle zooms off, reducing the overall mass/energy of the black hole. There are two problems with this she doesn't explain. One is how a particle can have negative energy - an antimatter particle, for instance, doesn't have negative mass, so why negative energy? The other is why the majority of particles from virtual pairs sucked into the black hole are the negative energy ones. Why aren't an equal number (statistically) of positive energy ones sucked in, producing no net effect? These kind of simple questions are often the ones popular science readers like answered.

The good news is that I did feel I had learned a lot more about Hawking's ideas (if it was sometimes hard work) and about his personal life. The were some insights into Brief History of Time too (I couldn't believe he got a $250,000 advance for the US version), though not really explaining its runaway success. I found the book genuinely interesting, despite Ferguson occasionally verging on hero-worship of Hawking. There were a couple of minor factual quibbles. I was unnerved to read that the New Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge was built in 1974 as I started attending lectures there in 1973. And the author's American origins came through in her lack of understanding of British life before the 1960s - she suggested that somehow not having central heating made Hawking's childhood home ramshackle - but it was the norm back then. These are trivial indeed, though.

If you are genuinely interested in Hawking this will definitely fill in a lot of the gaps in both his personal life and many popular science explanations of his work. If you made an attempt on Brief History of Time and failed, this is probably not for you.

Review originally published on www.popularscience.co.uk - reproduced with permission.

[Anaru Eba · Rating 4 out of 5]

20-р зууны томоохон төлөөлөл, онцгой Стивен Хокины амьдралын замнал, түүний судалгааны талаар олон зүйлийг мэдэж авах, түүнтэй хэдэн жил ч болов нэг цаг үед амьдарч байсан гэж бодохоор нэр төрийн хэрэг. Аmyotropic lateral sclerosis (хажуугийн хатингаралт хатуурал, ном орч)-р оношлогдсон ч ШУ-н төлөө хийсэн бүтээснээрээ хүн төрөлхтөнд өөрийгөө мөнхөлсөн түүний дүр эчнээ танил буюу тэргэнцэр болон qualizer computer program-н тусламжтай ярьж буй зураглал бидэнд хоногшсон нэгэн. Орчин үеийн шинжлэх ухааны эцэг болсон Галилеогоос яг 3000 жилийн дараа төрсөн гэгдэх энэ эрдэмтэн үнэхээр л чөлөөтэй сэтгэж, сониуч байсаар иржээ. Өөд болсон өдрийг нь маш тод санадаг юм, намайг 2-р курст яг физикийн лаборатори орж байхад бид их ярилцаж түүний хорвоог үдсэн өдөр нь хүртэл Пи тооны өдөр гэж гайхширч билээ. Түүний ШУ-ны нээлт, бүтээлээс гадна хувь хүний хувьд амьдралыг үзэх философи нь: "Нэгэнт л гарцаагүй үхэхээс хойш хүмүүст хэрэгтэй зүйл хийж байж үхье" , "Үхэх гэж би яарахгүй байна. Улам л ихийг хийж бүтээх юмсан гэж бодож байна" гэх. Амьд явах гэдэг ямар их үнэ цэнтэйгээс гадна тэр хугацаанд яасан их зүйлийг амжуулах ёстойг бүрэн ухаарч байж. Мөн тэрээр "бурхангүй үзэлтэн биш боловч " бурхан" гэдэг ухагдахууныг амилж биелсэн физикийн хуулиуд гэж боддог. "Бид чухам хэн бэ гэдгийг өнгөрсөн түүх маань бидэнд хэлж өгдөг, тэр түүхгүйгээр бид хэн ч биш" гэх үзэл нь мөн аливааг том хүрээгээр түүхтэй нь холбож бодоход урам боллоо. Гэвч орчуулгын хувьд ШУ-н үг хэллэг дээр ирэхээр л түг таг хийгээд бас орчуулах гэж байна гээд хэтэрхий ядсан ядмаг бүтээл. Электроныг цахим гэж орчуулаад, "Inflationary Theory”-г ахин дахин инфляцийн онол, Сохор номингийн нүхний онол ч гэх шиг, brane-г "хэц" нтр болгоод үнэхээр ШУ-н чиглэлийн хүнээр редактор хийлгэх хэрэгтэй байтал! Эмнэлгээр явж, оочерлон хүлээх олон цагтаа л ашгүй нэг юм дуусгалаа. Цаашдаа ШУ-ны бүтээлийг англи хэл дээр л уншсан нь илүү дээр гэдгийг "Brief History of Time”-ыг англи хэл дээр уншиж ойлгосонтойгоо харьцуулан дүгнэлээ. Ямартай ч улам л ихээр аливааг сурч мэдэх хүсэлд минь хөтөлж чадлаа. г юм дуусгалаа. Цаашда ШУ-ны бүтээлийг англи хэл дээр л уншсан нь илүү дээр гэдгийг "Brief History of Time”-ыг англи хэл дээр уншиж ойлгосонтойгоо харьцуулан дүгнэлээ. Ямартай ч улам л ихээр аливааг сурч мэдэх хүсэлд минь хөтөлж чадлаа.

[jaroiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audioverze mě naprosto vtáhla. Skvěle vyvážená kombinace fyziky a životopisu.
Nemůžu se ale teď zbavit dojmu, že Hawking byl celý život takové geniální dítě.
Četla jsem jeho Stručnou historii času, ta mě hodně bavila.
A tato kniha dokresluje celkový obraz o Hawkingovi víc než dobře.

[Nilu · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting foray in to the life of a "Genius".

Kitty Ferguson has done a great job in balancing the Science and the Human in this well written biography.

She has taken great measures to explain Mr.Hawking's theories in a simple yet effective manner. However most of the time my brain was in a 'Blackhole' mode when reading all the scientific explanations. Therefore I will not be able to recall any of it.

Would recommend to all hardcore Sci Fi readers and Stephen Hawking enthusiasts.

This book is a reminder of all the possibilities a Clever but disabled Human being could achieve with the correct attitude ,endurance and most importantly a loving family.

I'm now interested in reading "Travelling to Infinity - My life with Stephen" by Jane Hawking.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Hawking spent the majority of his professional life chained metaphorically to a wheelchair. Eventually, the ALS that robbed him of his mobility and speech would take his life, but not before he left his mark on the physics world. Author Kitty Ferguson knew Stephen Hawking and met him personally.

ALS is a disease that affects the motor neurons. They are the ones that connect to skeletal muscle and allow for conscious movement. It is a cruel disease, and when Hawking received his diagnosis, they thought he would live another three years, tops. Hawking was lucky in that sense. His disease progressed in tandem with medical advances, allowing him to speak and move.

In Physics, Hawking has a few eponyms. I'm only covering Hawking Radiation, though. In cosmology, black holes are massive objects occurring at the end of a star's lifespan. Not all stars become black holes. They have to be large enough for gravity to compress them into a point. Our Sun will not become a black hole; it's too small. Hawking discovered that black holes eventually evaporate.

I enjoyed the book. I've read some of Hawking's work, so the new parts came from his personal life. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long and unfocused

This book attempts to cover both Hawking's life and his theories. It alternates between covering one topic than the other. In the end it feels like two different books shuffled together.

His theories are pretty interesting, though, and this might not be popular to say, there isn't that much proof that he was right about anything.

His life is interesting, but not really interesting enough to fill a book of this size. A lot of it is covering people who talked to and speeches he gave, not super exciting in my opinion.

[Walid Taha]

Amazing book, Hawking's life is a wonderful fascinating phenomenon!

[Ensiyeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

آغازها می توانند پایان ها باشند؛ شرایط دردناک می تواند به خوشبختی ختم شود، گرچه شهرت و موفقیت ممکن است این عاقبت را نداشته باشند؛ اگر دو نظریه ی علمی را با هم قیاس کنیم، به نظر می آید که چیز بی معنایی به ما می دهند؛ فضای خالی، خالی نیست؛ سیاهچاله ها سیاه نیستند؛ و مردی که ظاهر او در انسان وحشت و دلسوزی ایجاد می کند، با خنده ما را به جایی می برد که باید مرزهای زمان و مکان باشند ولی نیستند.
ص4
نظریه علمی، تنها مدلی از جهان یا بخش محدودی از آن و مجموعه ای از قواعد است که کمیت های موجود در مدل را با مشاهداتی که ما به عمل می آوریم مربوط می کند. نظریه، فقط در ذهن ما وجود دارد و واقعیت دیگری ندارد(هر معنایی که این واقعیت را داشته باشد).
ص9-10
یک حالت کاملا خسته کننده داشتم و احساس می کردم که هیچ چیز ارزش آن را ندارد که برای آن تلاش بشود. یکی از نتایج بیماری من آن شد که این حالت را تغییر دهم: موقعی که انسان با امکان مرگ زودرس مواجه می شود، به این نکته پی می برد که زندگی، ارزش زندگی کردن را دارد و خیلی کارها هست که انسان می خواهد انجام دهد.
ص29
رؤیاهای من در آن ایام، آشفته بود. قبل از اینکه بیماری من تشخیص داده شود، زندگی برایم خسته کننده شده بود. به نظرم نمی آمد که هیچ کاری، ارزش انجام را داشته باشد. ولی در اولین روزهایی که از بیمارستان بیرون آمده بودم، خواب دیدم که می خواهند مرا اعدام کنند. ناگهان متوجه شدم که اگر حکم اعدام من به تعویق افتد می توانم کارهای خیلی با ارزشی انجام دهم. خواب دیگری که چند بار تکرار شد، این بود که من زندگی خود را، برای نجات دیگران، قربانی خواهم کرد. بالاخره، اگر من باید در هر صورت بمیرم، بهتر است که کارهای خوبی انجام دهم.
ص33-34
به تعویق افتادن حکم اعدام هاوکینگ، هرچند ناپایدار و موقتی بود، ولی زندگی، گرانبها و پر از چیزهای با ارزش بود.
ص34
تنها با بالا رفتن سن، انسان متوجه می شود که زندگی عادلانه نیست. باید در هر وضعی که هستید، بهترین کاری که از عهده شما برمی آید بکنید.
ص35-36
نباید هر چه را که می خوانیم باور کنیم.
ص36
بعضی آن را عزم و بعضی دیگر لجاجت می نامیدند. من در زمان های مختلف یکی از این دو را مؤثر می دانستم. فکر می کنم این چیزی بود که موجب می شد او راه خود را دنبال کند.
امید داشته باشید و خود را مشغول کنید.
ص42
مشکل است بتوانیم از آغاز جهان بدون اشاره به مفهوم خدا بحث کنیم. کار من درباره ی آغاز جهان در خط مرزی بین علم و مذهب قرار دارد، ولی من سعی می کنم که در طرف علمی این مرز باشم. کاملا امکان دارد که خدا به راه هایی عمل کند که با قوانین علمی توصیف پذیر نباشد. اما در این مورد هرکس می باید بنا بر اعتقادات شخصی خود پیش برود.
اگر این نگرش درست بود، نیوتون (که مرد بسیار مذهبی بود) نمی توانست قانون گرانش را کشف کند.
ص 77
اگر او (خدایی) نیست، پس واقعا بیگانه ای در کار است!
ص 78

هرگاه شما بحث درباره ی منشأ جهان را شروع می کنید، آشکارا پیامدهای مذهبی پیدا می کند.
ص 86

هاوکینگ مانند بزرگترین اندیشمندان، تحرک آمیز و بی تعصب است. به نتایجی می رسد که به وضوح تعریف شده و پایه بندی محکمی دارند ولی لحظه ای بعد، بی رحمانه پرسش هایی مطرح می کند و همان نتایج را نقض می کند. در پذیرفتن اینکه نتیجه گیری قبلی نادرست یا ناقص بوده است، تردید نمی کند. این روشی است که موجب پیشرفت علم و او و شاید هر علم خوب می شود و یکی از دلایل این واقعیت است که چرا علم فیزیک ظاهرا پر از ضد و نقیض است.
ص 113-114

بعضی مواقع ما با مسائل هولناکی مواجه می شدیم و بعد چیزی در میان بحران ها به نجات ما می آمد.
ص118

ما هر یک در کاری بسیار خوب هستیم.
ص127

همین که فکری در سر او جای گیرد، آن را بدون توجه به پیامدهای آن دنبال می کند. او چیزی را رها نمی کند. او هر چه را که می خواهد، به هر قیمتی برای دیگران تمام شود، انجام می دهد.
ص127-128

کمک هایی از قبیل صندلی چرخدار و کامپیوتر، می توانند نقش مهمی در فایق آمدن به کمبودهای جسمی داشته باشند، اما نگرش درست ذهنی، از آن هم مهمتر است. شکایت کردن از طرز برخورد مردم با معلولین، سودی ندارد. این معلولین هستند که باید سطح آگاهی مردم را تغییر دهند، همان طور که سیاهان و زنان موجب تغییر بینش مردم شدند.
ص148

[Roshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my humble opinion, the best part in the book is undisputedly the mention of the Grandfather Paradox. And trust me, it is penned by Kitty Ferguson in as humble a manner, as my opinion turns out to be about it. Kitty Ferguson gives clarity in her intentions of being an out and out, avid follower of Scientific advancements since the early days of Stephen Hawking's lifetime. Her keen interests in the endeavors of Hawking, allows her to emancipate from the normal social norms and conventions that a writer of her generation is expected to religiously adopt. This biography on Stephen Hawking is clearly the 'Magnum Opus' in terms of the accomplishments of a contemporary scientist, whose reference/mention is very common in a debate involving the 'The Elite Club' of intellects. The triumvirate comprising of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking could be called as The Three Musketeers of the Scientific Community, for they truly have played a significant role and are always the kingpins involved, when it comes to the commemoration of the immortals responsible for Scientific Theories. The congruence in Hawking's propositions are quite evident in a way, how Hawking has backed himself up during the analysis period through the demonstrations. The Big Bang Theory and the existence of God have formed the part of the paradoxes that have given birth to curiosity about the same in Hawking's mind. Unlike, Newton and Einstein, Hawking's culture at work predominantly relied on the fact that, he in his quest for excellence compromised on his needs to sustain his health through thick and thin of his Scientific career. To be fair on his part, Hawking has done exceedingly well in exceeding the expectations of his peers and family members. The one aspect of his life at work that Kitty has unhesitatingly described is his liking for music (Very similar to Einstein's tastes in music). Stephen Hawking's theories on Singularities in BlackHoles and The Bing Bang, his interpretation of Time Travel, his scale of contribution towards establishment of thesis on The white dwarf, the Supernova, our galaxy - The Milky Way and several other galaxies, among others form a concoction of the efforts put in by all his predecessors and contemporaries starting with Sir Isaac Newton. This man's rise to fame and success is not a fairy tale, but a result of persistent perseverance. For all the discoveries and inventions that have his name attached to or associated with, his theory of Singularities defines his life to this day. For, Singularity has not eluded him, but the Nobel Prize has. If Newton formed the part of an era before the first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 1901, Stephen Hawking is the most deserving Physicist currently deprived of a hold on the prized catch. It is a life well lived, given his penchant for Physics and life. The one bygone on Stephen Hawking's penchant and enthusiasm for life is framed by Kitty in a way, as to project his sense of humor. "His sense of humor is something worth dying for" is how one of his peers describes the light side of the revered Stephen Hawking. The four squares turn into stars, if I have to rate this book. But nevertheless, 'an excruciating experience' could never be the impression/review of the book, in my viewpoint.

NEW KING IN, HAS NO WEE TINT

[Norouzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

معرفي كتاب داستان زندگي و پژوهش هاي استيون هاوكينگ
پيش از هر چيزي بايد بگويم استيون يكي از نماد هاي خواستن و توانايي انسان است، اين كتاب سركذشت انساني توانا را نمايش ميدهد، استيون دچار بيماري اسکلروز جانبی آمیوتروفیک است بيماري كه تمام اعصاب را تخريب مي كند، تا جايي كه فرد از بين برود، شايد باوركردني نباشد ولي استيو حتي كوچكترين بخش يا عضو بدنش را نيز نمي تواند تكان دهد حتي زبانش را !!! در حال حاضر فقط مغز ايشان قادر به فعاليت است. قبل از خواندنش ترديد داشتم، ولي از حالا راضي هستم.
اين كتاب شرح رشد و رسيدن به موفقيت ايشان است، در كودكي در مدرسه یک شاگرد خودسر و به خصوص بدخط شناخته می‌شد. او هرگز خود را در محدوده کتاب‌های درسی مقید نمی‌کرد، بلکه چون با مطالعات آزاد سطح معلوماتش از کلاس بالاتر بود همیشه سعی داشت در کتاب‌های درسی اشتباهاتی را یافته و با معلمان به جروبحث بپردازد
هوش بالآي أو وقتي نمايان شد كه توانست ر امتحان ورودي اكسفورد را با موفقيتي بي همتا پشت سر كذاشت كه یک کمک هزینهٔ كامل تحصیلی به او عطا شد.
در دوره كارشناسي ارشد بعد ازقبولي به محصاحبه كننده خود گفت «اگر شاگرد اول شوم به کمبریج راه پیدا می‌کنم. اگر شاگرد دوم شوم در آکسفورد خواهم ماند. از این رو انتظار دارم مرا شاگرد اول کنید.»
أو توانست به بالاترين مقام هاي علمي در جامعه دست پيدا كند، همان طور كه مي دانيد ايشان هم اكنون مسئول جاه طلباته ترين پروژه جهان يعني گذر در زمان است.
در اين كتاب با فيزيك كوانتوم آشنا خواهيد شد و ايشان به تفسير به توضيح پرداخته، مطالب جالبي از نظريه چگونگي پيدايش دنيا و مطالب كيهان شناسي دارد كه براي من جذاب بود، كتاب هاي زياد ديگري دارد كه بيشتر تخصيي است
بخشي از كتاب:
تفاوت میان گذشته و آینده از کجا ناشی می شود؟ قوانین علم میان گذشته و آینده تمایزی قایل نمی شود، بااین حال در زندگی عادی تفاوتی عظیم میان گذشته و آینده وجود دارد. ممکن است ببینید یک فنجان از روی میز به زمین بیفتد و تکه تکه شود اما هرگز شاهد آن نخواهید بود که فنجان تکه های خود را جمع کند و به بالا بپرد و بر روی میز برگردد. افزایش بی نظمی یا به اصطلاح آن آنتروپی چیزی است که گذشته را از آینده متمایز می کند و به زمان جهت می دهد. هاوکینگ زمانی عقیده داشت که گسترش جهان هستی متوقف و جهان دوباره جمع می شود. او بعدها گفت که اشتباه می کرده است.
پيشنهاد كتاب

[Tomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ferguson's authorized biography attempts to both explore the personal life and explain the scientific work of one of the most fascinating minds of the 20th century and while adequate, it doesn't really excel at either. The narrative flow of Hawking's life is unfortunately interrupted by efforts to help a lay person understand the meaning and significance of his work at different periods in his life, but each excursion feels both over long and yet somehow too brief in detail. The details of Hawking's personal experience do not feel like anything that could not be drawn from his Wikipedia page. This is all together a safe biography, and one I would only recommend to those who know little about Hawking and are curious why he established such a foothold in our collective minds and imagination.

[Hashim Shafiq · Rating 3 out of 5]

From very long time I want to read about Stephen Hawking. Its an inspiration for not just me but for everyone. I have just watched "The Theory of Everything" before reading that book. The author of the book quite well balanced between the life of Stephen and his work. Chapters about life is totally well written. But When It comes to scientific work of Stephen, the author tried its best to make it simple, and she succeeded in that. But the issue is that a normal person does want to read a lot of chapters just on scientific work of not only Stephen but other scientist also. The author should have to keep the scientific work at minimum level and focus more on research. Then the book become more interesting.

[Neeramitra Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been this engrossed in a biography before - not to mention, a biography not about an adventurer with wild stories but that of a wheelchair-confined genius whose mind dove deep into quantum physics, black holes, big bang, electromagnetic forces, and the like.

That's because this is the biography of a superhuman - a man who rose above man through the indomitable power of will and positivity. He, who overcame impossible odds to achieve worldwide acclaim as a genius, theoretical physicist, and hope for the specially-abled.

The writer, Kitty Fergussion has a gift for breaking down complex concepts and weaving them in with personal anecdotes (from Stephen's life) - amazing read overall.

Stephen Hawkings is now one of my inspirations.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very interesting, both for the story of the person Stephen Hawking as for the scientific contents. I think Kitty Fergusan has done a great job in explaining the theory to a level that is just understandable for a large public.
The only thing that I think is strange are the vague references to 'abuse' (of mr. Hawking?). Maybe deliberately vague but it leaves only question marks. Nothwithstanding, a book worth reading.

[Nita Hutapea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in Stephen Hawking biography. I was amaze by how genius he is. In this book we can read about his life. How his love for science and the way he studied just make me envy. Although I don’t really like to read about his work because I don’t quite understand. But overall, the book is very good to learn something from his life.

[TryHardTracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real page turner - in that I turned lots of pages without reading them. This book is less about S.H. and more about physics theories. You need to remember them too, because chapters later they come up again leaving you feeling like you're sitting a high school science exam without having memorized the right formula.

The bits about the man himself were very interesting - wish there was more.

[Alex Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK audio book. Really interesting to hear the life of Stephen Hawking and I got a lot of inspiration from his courage and his intellect.
The book was difficult at times to follow while driving on my daily commute back and forth to work but I got the gist of some of the technical stuff.

[Ch J Loveall · Rating 2 out of 5]

scanned and there is nothing I have not read before - and, yes, I have kept up with him and newest ideas

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly comprehensive covering of Stephen Hawkings life and works.

[Mazliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally understand what the black,hole is about. The author did a good job simplifying Hawking’s work so that it’s understandable by laymen.

[Aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspiring. Only one thing that got stuck in my head is never give up. No matter whatever happens. Just keep on going. And keep doing what makes you happy.