Theories of the Universe - Selections from Princeton University Press (Compilation) [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Stephen Hawking (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 1996

History and fate of the universe. Speculations on the big questions of modern cosmology. Extends theoretical frontiers and offers opportunities to grasp the significance of current theories.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

STEPHEN HAWKING is an English theoretical physicist. Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes, and his popular works, including New York Times bestseller bestseller A Brief History of Time, in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with RELATIVITY, RELIGION AND SCIENCE, and MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH.]--The Listen to a Genius series is a collection of CD reissues of recordings made by Audio Scholar in the 1990s. The idea--to present a cross section of writings by the world's greatest thinkers--is admirable. But while the production quality and narration are generally excellent, the series has some problems. First, the complete absence of liner notes is a disappointment. More importantly, the abridgments of these great works are often so drastic that they fail to provide a coherent introduction to the author's work. In his preface to RELATIVITY, for example, Einstein writes that his book requires "a fair amount of patience and force of will on the part of the reader." Indeed, a work of this complexity would have a reader continually rereading, something that is impractical in the audio medium. As a result, this recording will likely appeal only to those with a solid background in physics or mathematics, despite Einstein's remarkably lucid prose and the unflinching Julian Lopez-Morillas, who delivers it with clarity. Similar flaws bog down THEORIES OF THE UNIVERSE, also read by Lopez-Morillas. Though Stephen Hawking gets top billing, he is the author of only one of the four selections in this recording. His contribution, like his famous book A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (millions sold, perhaps hundreds read and understood), has fascinating and memorable passages but is altogether impenetrable to the non-physicist. The high point of the recording, rather, is Paul Thagard's "Conceptual Revolutions," an erudite but accessible look at the major leaps in scientific thought. Bertrand Russell's RELIGION AND SCIENCE is much easier to digest. Published in 1935, it looks at the conflicts between these two integral parts of human culture. The writing is clear, and the abridgment, while it retains only a fraction of the original work, is tidy if not seamless. David Case sounds pedantic at first, but once listeners warm to him, they'll be happy to have exchanged Einstein's quantum physics for this introduction to Russell's metaphysics. Mohandas Gandhi's MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH (1925) is an altogether different kind of philosophy. Frederick Davidson has chosen to read this autobiography of India's great spiritual leader with an affected accent, an odd choice in a work of nonfiction. But it works: It helps to ground a rambling piece of writing, helping this title to come closest to fulfilling the aim of the Listen to a Genius series. D.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette: 50 pages
• Publisher: Audio Scholar; abridged edition edition (July 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879557452
• ISBN-13: 978-1879557451
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,698,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great edutainment of the universe ..., July 7, 1999

By 

Arnold Veness - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theories of the Universe - Selections from Princeton University Press (Compilation) (Audio Cassette)

July 7, 1999 I would like to take a minute to thank Audio Scholar for putting together this audio novel which consists of 4 essays on the theories of the Universe. I thoroughly enjoyed it as did my 17 month old son who gets to listen to them to as his bedtime stories. One night he kept me up until 2am until I turned the tape back on! Normally he just gets to listen from 8 - 10pm. I would like to encourage Audio Scholar to produce more of these types of edutainment audio programs on tape or CD. In many instances I wouldn't mind seeing the programs extend to 4 tapes or CD's. I love listening to scientific books on my way to work and also love to share them with my 17 month old son as his bedtime stories. My budget for this type of audio edutainment is $1,000 a year and the more science and physics books abridged the better. I would love to see the following subjects abrigded to audio for distribution through Amazon.com. Maths, sciences, physics, astrophysics, geology, any and all space related topics, gravity, unified field theory, electromagnetics, electronics, microproccessor design, optics, micro-optics, electro-optics, light and the theory there of, satellites, satellite orbital mechanics and related theory. I do not have time in my busy daily schedule to read very much, but do I have five hours a day to listen and learn. If you make it I will support it. Arnold D Veness