Customer Reviews
A big bang indeed - By: LXIX, 06 Aug 2008 
This book blew my brains out.
It's one thing to know a subject, but it's an altogether different thing to teach it & convey it to the layman.
Remarkably clear description of what is beyond all our understanding - By: Darren Simons, 10 Jul 2008 
There's something quite unique about this book - for all the hype it has as the book which stands out as a theoretical physicist trying to explainin layman terms what the universe is... it actuallly is!
In this, Hawking provides a bit of a history of our understanding of the universe & the Big Bang. Some of the content I expected but I was intrigued to read about the idea that before the Big Bang time didn't exist... it sounds rather fundamental to our lives really! I was also a little surprised to see how Hawking dealt with the view of creationists &in particular the way he tried to allow for the concept of a god being compatible with the notion of Big Bang.
While I found some of the book difficult to follow, overall I definitely felt I gained an albeit brief understanding into the views of the community of physicists to the origin of our universe.
There is a touch of arrogance to the writing, but then if you're one of the brightest people to have livedin our lifetime I guess that's justified!
Definitely recommended if you have the slightest interestin understanding what Big Bang is!
A book that leaves you in awe - By: Linda Oskam, 15 May 2008 
A book that sold millions of copies & one wonders how many people read it & of those, how many actually understood it all. I have a scientific education (chemistry), but I frankly admit I did not get it all. It is difficult to explain what isin the book, but isin essence about where we came from & what we are heading to with regard to the universe, time, space & matter. The book is very well written, with a sense of humor & trying to explain the nearly inexplicable to the layman; I could follow large chunks of the text, but sometimes it is just too difficult to comprehend. This made me think: is Stephen Hawking's disadvantage (being locked upin his own body) also his disadvantage? He probably has more time than most people to turn into himself & contemplate on such extremely complex items as black holes, wormholes & the (in)finity of the universe. A book that leaves youin awe.
interesting .... - By: Raza Abidi, 12 May 2008 A very good book. Hawking wrote this book for the common reader with little or no knowledge of Physics. This make this book different & interesting. He gives the view of different scientists about the creation of this universe & the scientific explanation of the eventsin the history of time which made the universe look like as it is now. He also give the view of researchers about the predictions of how the Universe may come to an end it it really started the was we think it did.
Overall a really good book to read. Though there are still a lot of questions he left unansweredin the book but this only adds to the beauty of this book. It forces you to think & to make your own conclusions. I gave 4 stars to this book for two reasons. First it is written by a scientist & there are still some placesin the book where he could not stop himself from explaining thingsin a pure scientific manner which give the book an air of a scientific research paper at times, which is not interesting for me at all, & will not be of any interest to anyone with limited knowledge of Physics. Second thing is that the book is a little old & researchin the areas describedin this book is now far ahead then the time this book was written. This makes this book a little old & some of the theories presentedin the book are now proved wrong or improved by the later researchers.
However this does not really mean that the book is outdated & should not be read anymore. This is still a very good book & it bridges the gap between the hard core physics & the common people. Also I am not aware of any good book on the same topic which is written by a scientist for the common people & this makes it uniquein this class.
Awesome - By: Rory Penman, 27 Dec 2007 I would highly reccomend this book, it is an absolute must for anybody interestedin space or physics. The way Stephen puts relatively hard theories into simple understanding reading for the not so well abled physicians is amazing! As well as combining his words with well illustrated diagrams makes it an easier read. I am onlyin my first year of studying physics at A-level but i feel like I know alot more about the Universe & Sub-atomical particles which has really boosted my confidence.
I really do reccomend this book to any keen physician of any age & intellegence level. Happy Readings =]
