Customer Reviews
A picture explains a thousand words. - By: John Hepburn, 18 Jun 2007 
I'm a scientist, but not a mathematician or a physicist. I have, like many people, an educated layman's knowledge of the universe & am keen to learn more.
As such, I rely on popular versions of some hard thinking to access & enjoy my interests. Reading through the original version, I hit treacle about two thirds through & (from what I'm told) missed a fine climax to an excellent book.
This is different. I've often thought that a great mind can tie together complex ideas & information in a clear & simple way.
This is the result of a truly great mind. It's beautifully written, simple, concise & (although it still requires an investment of thought & time) is far more accessible.
I thoroughly enjoyed it & would recommend it to anyone interested in this area.
True Quality - By: , 18 Jan 2005 This is a truelly amazing book it has to be said. Anyone interested in space & time travel etc must buy this book. It's not one of those books you buy & then never read, you'll be hooked in no time. Before you know it you will be understanding how space reallly works. Explained with amazing clarity by the true master of space. A must buy for anyone.
Very good read - By: Paul, 12 Oct 2004 I started out with low expectations, i thought i was going to be overwhelmed by incomprehensible facts & figures. I would be lying if i said its an easy book to read, its not, you have to give it maximum attention or else you will miss bits, but for such a complex topic Hawking does an excellent job of making it manageable for those of us who aren't geniuses yet are mildly interested in the subject, & the illustrations make it even more so.
Thinking Great Enough to Match the Cosmos - By: Patrick Shepherd, 18 Nov 2003 For anyone looking for a great, comprehensible explanation of the current state of the theories driving today's physics, this is it. Hawking has taken everything from the early history of thinking about the universe, its laws & composition, to the latest developments on black holes & string theory & placed it in a remarkably lucid set of explanations that detail the concepts behind alll the mathematics that is so intimidating to most. This book is written without a single equation or a single statement on the order of "From the above, it is obvious that..." Instead, we proceed from the (comparatively) simple concepts about the everyday observable world of gravity, planets, & stars, travel carefully along the historical path of scientific observations as they modify & enhance the simple theories till we reach the world of quantum mechanics, the big bang, wormholes, & Grand Unified Field Theories. Each concept is fully explained, & with this expanded second edition, many of the concepts are beautifully illustrated with drawings & photographs.
And, possibly surprising to some people, as we enter the rarified air of today's theories, we see that the line between physics & philosophy is a very thin one, & ruminations about the origin of the Universe lead to discussions about God & fate. Here we see why Hawking is one of the premier physicists of today, as he obviously thinks in same kind of conceptual language that this book is written in, capable of looking at the meaning behind the mathematics & how it relates to us as humans.
Physics students & engineers may not find very much new here, but even they may benefit from the clear thought lines presented here, forcing a look at the meaning behind alll the esoteric symbols that are their everyday working fare.
About the only quibble I had with this was Hawking's insistence on writing out very large/smalll numbers as million-million-million... While this was fine the first couple of times it becomes a little irritating in place of the standard 1,000,000... representation, or even better to use standard scientific notation.
A great elucidation of some of the most complex theories of the day, theories seemingly unrelated to your everyday life, but which are in fact the bedrock upon which today's technological marvels are based, & with implications that catch the nether regions of religion & the questions we alll have about the meaning of life & the universe.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Quantum mechanics and Relativity for Dummies! - By: , 18 Apr 2002 This book explains the concepts introduced in the "Brief history of Time" more clearly with the use of outstanding illustrations & graphs. People that read the original edition will now be able to understand the somewhat cryptic notions using beautiful representations of the microcosm & macrocosm. A must for people interested in science.
