A Brief History of Time | |
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Author(s) | Stephen Hawking |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Popular science |
Publisher | Bantam Dell Publishing Group |
Publication date | 1988 |
Media type | Book |
Pages | 256 |
ISBN | 9780553109535 |
OCLC Number | 39256652 |
Dewey Decimal | 523.1 21 |
LC Classification | QB981 .H377 1998 |
Followed by | Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays |
A Brief History of Time (subtitled "From the Big Bang to Black Holes") is a popular-science book written by British physicist Stephen Hawking and first published by the Bantam Dell Publishing Group in 1988.[1] It became a best-seller and has sold more than 10 million copies.[2] It was also on the London Sunday Times best-seller list for more than four years.[3]
Contents |
A Brief History of Time attempts to explain a range of subjects in cosmology, including the Big Bang, black holes and light cones, to the nonspecialist reader. Its main goal is to give an overview of the subject but, unusual for a popular science book, it also attempts to explain some complex mathematics.
The author notes that an editor warned him that for every equation in the book the readership would be halved, hence it includes only a single equation: E = mc2. In addition to Hawking's notable abstention from presenting equations, the book also simplifies matters by means of illustrations throughout the text, depicting complex models and diagrams.
The book ends with: "If we find [a unified theory], it would be the ultimate triumph — for then we would know the mind of God."[4]
The Introduction was removed after the first edition, as it was copyrighted by Sagan, rather than by Hawking or the publisher, and the publisher did not have the right to reprint it forever. Hawking wrote his own introduction for later editions.
September 2005 saw the release of A Briefer History of Time (a collaboration with Leonard Mlodinow), which is an abridged version of the original book. It was updated again to address new issues that have arisen due to further scientific development.
In 1991, Errol Morris directed a documentary film about Hawking, but although they share a title, the film is a biographical study of Hawking, and not a filmed version of the book.
The New York's Metropolitan Opera has commissioned an opera to premiere in 2015-16 based on Hawking's book. It will be composed by Osvaldo Golijov with a libretto by Alberto Manguel in a production by Robert Lepage.[6]