A Brief History of Time

By: Stephen Hawking

Narrated by: Michael Jackson

Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

This landmark book is for those of us who prefer words to equations; this is the story of the ultimate quest for knowledge, the ongoing search for the secrets at the heart of time and space. Its author, Stephen W. Hawking, is arguably the greatest mind since Einstein. From the vantage point of the wheelchair, where he has spent the last 20 years trapped by Lou Gehrig's disease, Professor Hawking has transformed our view of the universe. A Brief History of Time is Hawking's classic introduction to today's most important scientific ideas about the cosmos. It is read here by the Emmy Award-winning host of The Michael Jackson Show on KABC-TV.

©1988 Stephen W. Hawking (P)2005 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterful summary of what physicists now think the world is made of and how it got that way." (The Wall Street Journal)

"Lively and provocative, Hawking clearly possesses a natural teacher's gift, easy, good-natured humor, and an ability to illustrate highly complex propositions with analogies plucked from daily life." (The New York Times)

Glad I finally got to get through

I’m really impressed and surprise how digestible This was. I had an impression That it was going to be pretty heady stuff it turned out to be quite accessible and I am grateful for Steven’s effort and explaining this in laments terms. Much more like Carl Segan or Neil Degrasse Tyson than I would have guessed

Profoundly Deep

This is a book that someone with limited understanding of science can follow. It simplifies scientific theories for those of us who do not have a PHD.

El tiempo en un libro

Lo que mas me gusta de los libros sobre estos temas es que pinta el mapa de todo lo que nos falta por descubrir del universo.

The content is good and interesting, but the reader is plain awful. Just find the same book read by someone else

The content is good and interesting, but the reader is plain awful. Just find the same book read by someone else

Great overview of physics as we know it

Audiobook had distracting sounds of turning paper, shuffling of hands, and other extraneous sounds. Book was great though.

Hawking's wry humour is never far away

I'm amazed it's taken me this long to 'read' this book. Hawking was that rare thing, a scientist who is brilliant enough to have done significant research, but also a great communicator and popularised of science. He talks us through the history of mankind's theories and discoveries step by step, each building on the other. Running through the book is his wry humour and also a philosophical approach to man's place in the universe.

The narration was a bit hard to take. I was going to complain about having to hear Hawking talk through the medium of an American voice, but then we've had to do that for decades anyway. There's a few mispronounciations and a lot of hesitations.

Elegance

This book dives right in and tells a story that helped me understand how many of the 20th century advances in theoretical physics relate to my world/life.

-1 for "okay" narrator

Love the subject matter, but this narrator freezes up giving me the impression he has no idea what he's reading.

Very Well Explained for the Layman

Great reading by (not the one you're thinking of) Michael Jackson. Towards the end you really have to listen to catch everything, but for the most part I was able to do regular work while I listened.

Much ado about nothing

Interesting read about science theory concerning blackholes and big bang and other Einstein’s theories. After reading his book, I have no idea what contributions Hawking made to science and astronomy other than reverberating other people’s theories. Hawking is undoubtedly very intelligent but as a writer was truly lacking in his ability to convey his intellect in a way that doesn’t bore the reader.