Stephen Hawking

by White, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780309084109
• ISBN10: 0309084105
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Pr

Summary

Originally published in 1992 to great acclaim, this updated edition traces the course of Hawkingrs"s life and science, successfully marrying biography and physics to tell the story of a remarkable man. Stephen Hawking is no ordinary scientist. With a career that began over thirty years ago at Cambridge University, he has managed to do more than perhaps any other scientist to broaden our basic understanding of the universe. His theoretical work on black holes and his progress in advancing our knowledge of the origin and nature of the cosmos have been groundbreaking-if not downright revolutionary. Stephen Hawking has also spent much of his adult life confined to a wheelchair, a victim of ALS, a degenerative motor neuron disease. Clearly his physical limitations have done nothing to confine him intellectually. He simply never allowed his illness to hinder his scientific development. In fact, many would argue that his liberation from the routine chores of life has allowed him to focus his efforts more keenly on his science. Hawking certainly would have been remarkable for his cutting edge work in theoretical physics alone. However, he has also managed to popularize science in a way unparalleled by other scientists of his stature. He became a household name, achieving almost cult-like fame, with the release of his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time.Although steeped in the potentially overwhelming complexities of cosmology, he succeeded in selling millions of copies to audiences eager to learn even some of what he has to offer. Science writers White and Gribbin have skillfully painted a portrait of an indefatigable genius and a scientific mind that seemingly knows no bounds. Knitting together clear explanations of Hawkingrs"s science with a detailed personal history that is both balanced as well as sensitive, we come to know-and appreciate-both. As Stephen Hawkingrs"s new book, The Universe in a Nutshell,hits the best-seller lists, it is the ideal time for readers to learn more about this remarkable man and his vast body of accomplishments.

Author Biography

Michael White is a former science editor of GQ. In a previous incarnation he was a member of the Thompson Twins, and then a science lecturer before becoming a full-time science writer in 1991 He lives in Perth, Australia, with his wife and their three children Dr. John Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge before becoming a full-time science writer. He has worked for the science journal Nature and the magazine New Scientist, and has contributed articles on science topics to The Times, the Guardian, and the Independent. John Gribbin has received awards for his writing in both Britain and the United States and is currently a visiting Fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
The Day Galileo Died	p. 1
Classical Cosmology	p. 21
Going Up	p. 40
Doctors and Doctorates	p. 56
From Black Holes to the Big Bang	p. 74
Marriage and Fellowship	p. 87
Singular Solutions	p. 104
The Breakthrough Years	p. 117
When Black Holes Explode	p. 135
The Foothills of Fame	p. 152
Back to the Beginning	p. 175
Science Celebrity	p. 187
When the Universe Has Babies	p. 207
A Brief History of Time	p. 220
The End of Physics?	p. 252
Hollywood, Fame, and Fortune	p. 265
A Brief History of Time Travel	p. 292
Stephen Hawking: Superstar	p. 304
Notes	p. 322
About the Authors	p. 329
Index	p. 331
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