Customer Reviews
Very good book, but a bit hard to understand - By: F. Meng, 24 Jul 2008 
Before I read this book, I have finished A Briefer History of Time also by Stephen Hawking. Therefore, I have had a general idea of time & relativity already.
I found Universityin a Nutshell is much harder to understand comparing with the A Briefer History of Time. The knowledge introducedin the book is much deeper & I counldn't understand much of it. I have got a master degreein microelectronics, if I got problem to understand I think many other people will have the same problem.
Hawking is trying to introduce the knowledge using non-mathematical ways. It is well illustrated, however, I think it is a bit over illustrated. I found many of the illustrations are redundant such as Einstein's photos & some other diagram isn't really helpful for readers to understand the knowledge which is written by word.
Generally speaking, it is still a very good book. It covers quite a lot of knoledge points such as black hole & etc. And it is quite a fun to read.
Mostly understandable :) - By: Catfish, 14 Jun 2006 I am not much of a science / physics person (asin I don't really understand these matters but do find them fascinating) but I am very interestedin astronomy, so I am always happy to read something about the universein language which does not employ too much maths or excessive equations, as I simply get lost otherwise. I found Mr Hawking's explanations very accessible, apart from the discussion about time & the whole argument as to whether it has always been there, & sadly even the beautiful illustrations didn't help...but I'd put that down as my own fault rather than the author's! Allin all, very well-written book, most concepts will be understood by ordinary people without prior knowledge of maths/physics, I am grateful to Mr Hawking for making this difficult subject seem much less daunting!
Only for people with science knowledge - By: G. Thulbourn, 09 Jun 2005 
A lovely book, lavishly illustrated & covering a huge swathe of scientific ground. The only problem is that despite being written for non-scientists, it doesn't really explain very much & the lavish illustrations sometimes don't really describe what's going on either. If you have read similar popular science books then you'll find this an interesting recap of a large field, but if you haven't you'll probably just end up feeling lost & confused.
Universe in a Nutshell review - By: J. C. J. Raybould, 13 Jan 2005 
I think this book has a broad appeal for all readers that have an interestin science. When I first bought the book I was worried thet it would be too complicated because my area of expertise is law not science, but it is explainedin an interesting & simple way with illustrations & minimal use of maths! Not only will you get an idea of the science behind this book but it will also leave you with philisophical thoughts about the universe & the mysteries that are incomprehensable & yet to be solved.
Excellent but incomplete picture of the universe - By: , 25 Nov 2004 This book is a must read for everyone who loves science. One has to feel some discomfort from the incompleteness of the big bang universe & its inefficiency to explain the growing number of observations. It is quite uncertain what existed before the big bang. That is why new theories like Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction that cast light on the most recent mysteries from the near & distant space should be considered.
