Stephen Hawking's Universe: The Cosmos Explained [Paperback]

David Filkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 1998

Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time has sold over 9 million copies worldwide. Now, in everyday language, Stephen Hawking’s Universe reveals step-by-step how we can all share his understanding of the cosmos, and our own place within it. Stargazing has never been the same since cosmologists discovered that galaxies are moving away from each other at an extraordinary speed. It was this understanding of the movement of galaxies that allowed scientists to develop a theory of how the universe was created—the Big Bang theory. Working with this theory, Stephen Hawking and other physicists felt challenged to come up with a scientific picture that would tackle the fundamental question: what is the nature of the universe? Stephen Hawking’s Universe charts this work and provides simple explanations for phenomena that arouse our curiosity. This work is a voyage of discovery with an astonishing set of conclusions that will enable us to understand how matter can be produced from nothing at all and will provide us with an explanation for the basis of our existence and that of everything around us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Filkin is the producer of Stephen Hawking’s Universe in collaboration with the independent production company Uden Associates. He is a science documentary maker of international repute and was until 1994 head of BBC Television’s Science Department. He lives in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (October 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465081983
• ISBN-13: 978-0465081981
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Time

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it = enjoyment Guaranteed, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stephen Hawking's Universe: The Cosmos Explained (Paperback)

Stephen Hawking's universe is one of the best books I ever read in my life.It is a great book for beginners, as well as advanced scientists. It explains the universe and other subjects, without the use of complex equations. This book is written in the form of a science timeline, which includes lots of Titans of the science world. These great people include Albert Einstein, Newton, Stephen Hawking and others. No matter how smart the reader is, if he likes science he should read this book. This book is like a database of scientific facts and theories. In the book, journey through time and find out about the earliest Greek mathematicians to Newton's Infinite Universe. Then 500 years later read how his theories were being proven wrong again by Einstein and others. Read about the people who started science and then the others who improved it. Here in this book you will find all the facts of science. I loved this book and I hope you will too. Two Thumbs up.

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too simple, bad photos, not Hawking., January 11, 2001

By 

Tim E. "madscientist" (Winston Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stephen Hawking's Universe: The Cosmos Explained (Paperback)

I'm not a cosmologist, but Stephen Hawking's Universe was so simply written it is essentially condescending. The language is akin to the level one would read in a newspaper. Moreover, the pictures are second rate pre-contact lense Hubble knock-offs (despite being published in 1997), and the book has very little to do with Stephen Hawking. Sure, he wrote the foreward and did some editing, but it lacks the wit and wonder of a Hawking work. Naming the book after him and putting his picture on the front is misleading. I AM a chemist, and despite this, Filkin's descriptions of Chemical discoveries left even me guessing because he was attempting to dumb-down ideas that aren't dumb-downable, and didn't include diagrams which would be helpful for anyone trying to understand the concepts (like neutrino capturing or particle acceleration). If you want to learn some cosmology, read "A Brief History of Time" or "A Short History of the Universe". These are simply written but informative works that won't leave you waiting for substance.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Brief Version of "A Brief History", September 25, 2000

By 

"ultraman_zero" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stephen Hawking's Universe: The Cosmos Explained (Paperback)

The title "Stephen Hawking's Universe" may give you the wrong impression about this book, because one would naturally associate Stephen Hawking with more in-depth scientific theories. However, this book is in fact no more than an introduction to the histories and discoveries of our universe. That is, it is more of a "tell-tale" than an explanation type of book, and should not be compared with books like "A Brief History of Time" (by Stephen Hawking himself).

In terms of presentation, this book does a great job in showing us the discoveries made by various scientists of the past and present in a fairly logical order. The beautiful illustrations used also contribute in helping the readers to understand and to maintain interest in the contents. Nevertheless, at times the author does seem to lose focus on the topics, and they become slightly more difficult to follow. Quite often you have to read on a couple of pages (or even chapters) before you are taken back on track.

To summarise, the book provides a clear outline of human's knowledge of the universe in a very graphical manner, and would be suited to those new to such concepts. However, if you are expecting explanation of greater depths, then you will probably be disappointed.