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

David Filkin (Author), Stephen W. Hawking (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

The companion book to the six-part public television series coming in the fall of 1997, written to allow nonscientists to better understand the mystery and majesty of the cosmos.

At last -- a science book for the rest of us! More than 9 million people around the world bought Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, making it one of the most widely read scientific titles ever published, but many simply couldn't understand the complex concepts of space and time it discussed. Now David Filkin, producer of the upcoming public television series Stephen Hawking's Universe, and former head of BBC Television's Science Department, presents the companion book to that series, which explains, in simple layman's terms, the origin of the universe, the meaning and nature of time, the properties of other galaxies, and many other subjects of Professor Hawking's fascinating research. By simplifying these latest findings in astrophysics, Filkin makes clear to the average reader just how close Stephen Hawking and his colleagues have come to understanding the secrets of the universe. Featuring a wonderful selection of mesmerizing, full-color photographs of the cosmos and a foreword by Stephen Hawking himself, Stephen Hawking's Universe is a great way to learn about our universe without going back to school.

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465081991
• ISBN-13: 978-0465081998
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,667,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 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.

45 of 50 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.