The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell - Two Books in One [Hardcover]

Stephen Hawking (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0681129204
• ISBN-13: 978-0307291172
• ASIN: 0307291170
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the version to get, October 17, 2007

By 

Metallurgist (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

If you are interested in Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" and "Universe in a Nutshell" this is the version to get. It contains both the updated and illustrated "A Brief History of Time" and "Universe in a Nutshell" in a single volume. It is apparently difficult to find, but I have seen copies (in both hard and soft cover) in the bargain sections at Borders and Barnes and Noble for less money than separate editions of either "A Brief History of Time" or "Universe in a Nutshell".

This illustrated version of "A brief history of time" was written about 8 years after the original version and as such incorporates much that has been learned over the intervening years. In addition, the illustrations greatly enhance the text. They are not only a joy to look at, but actually make the book more understandable. The original work has been characterized as one of the most popular, but unread books of all time. Much of the unread characterization stems from the fact that this is a difficult book unless one has had some minimal understanding of physics. Minimal is, however, the appropriate word as one need not be a physicist to get a lot from this book, but one should not be put off by a discussion of quarks, gluons, gravitons, wormholes or string theory.

The first chapters deal with the classical view of physics and the universe. This is followed by discussions of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. It is important to note that these are not rigorous discussions, indeed no mathematics is used and the discussion is entirely devoted to the basic ideas and implications of these theories. At least one reviewer has criticized the fact that these subjects have not been developed in any detail, but rather are just expounded. I think that this misses the point. This is not a physics text; rather it tries (I think very successfully) to show the reader the beauty and implications of modern physics. I found the discussion of modern particle physics to be one of the best very elementary treatments that I have ever read. Next he discusses black holes and the origin of the universe. Again, I found his discussion of black holes to be one of the best very elementary treatments that I have ever read. The last chapters on wormholes, time travel and grand unified theories are more speculative than the preceding chapters, but the reader is clearly forewarned that this is the case. (The most speculative, and in my opinion least clear chapter, was the one on wormholes and time travel, which was not in the original version of "A brief History of Time".)

I liked this book a lot and do not agree with those who found it to be unclear and very difficult to follow, but I can see how those with no physics background at all would find too difficult to finish. This version has the virtue of pictures which make following Hawking's text a bit easier to follow and as he states in the forward "Even if you only look at the pictures and their captions you should get some idea of what is going on."

The Universe in a Nutshell is more of a companion to, rather than a sequel to "A Brief History of Time". I think that the first two chapters of "Nutshell" give a better overview of relativity theory and quantum mechanics than the corresponding chapters in "Time". These chapters and the illustrations are reason enough to read this book. The other chapters stand-alone and represent areas that Hawking has worked on or thought about since he wrote "Time". Some are a bit out there, especially the one on time travel, but are none the less very interesting and entertaining, even if they are very hard to follow (at least I found them so).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to buy if you don't own the books already., August 23, 2008

By 

bio_hazard391 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell - Two Books in One (Hardcover)

I love these 2 books, and the fact that this combines them both in 1 is perfect! Hawking deals with complex topics in physics and breaks them down in a good and understandable manner. I'm happy that I purchased this book, although I don't see the point in buying it if you already own one of the combined books here, since there doesn't seem to be any extra added content.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stephen hawking-Brief History of Time & Universe in a Nutshell, May 21, 2009

By 

Marilyn M. Harris - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell - Two Books in One (Hardcover)

These illustrated books are outstanding in their illustrations and style
of presentation. Hawking has a real talent for presenting complex theories
in an understandable way. Anyone with an interest in the universe will find
these books fascinating.