Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays

By: Stephen Hawking

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Thirteen extraordinary essays shed new light on the mystery of the universe—and on one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time.

“[Hawking] sprinkles his explanations with a wry sense of humor and a keen awareness that the sciences today delve not only into the far reaches of the cosmos, but into the inner philosophical world as well.”—The New York Times Book Review

In his phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking literally transformed the way we think about physics, the universe, reality itself. In these thirteen essays and one remarkable extended interview, the man widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein returns to reveal an amazing array of possibilities for understanding our universe.

Building on his earlier work, Hawking discusses imaginary time, how black holes can give birth to baby universes, and scientists’ efforts to find a complete unified theory that would predict everything in the universe. With his characteristic mastery of language, his sense of humor and commitment to plain speaking, Stephen Hawking invites us to know him better—and to share his passion for the voyage of intellect and imagination that has opened new ways to understanding the very nature of the cosmos.

©1993 Stephen Hawking and Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing (P)1993 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

“Succinct, illuminating, and—considering the inherently baffling nature of contemporary cosmology—remarkably easy to read.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A second chance at enlightenment . . . [Hawking] deftly unravels . . . complex matters in simple, lay language. . . . Very readable.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Well Read and

This is a collection of essays and presentations about (as the title says) black holes and baby universes, I enjoyed the first essay/presentation about Stephen Hawking's life, as this is not something I've every really known much about. I also like that he was invested in making his passion accessible to the general population.

I liked that the collection is organized chronologically. As mentioned in the introduction, he showed progress in his general understanding of the universe, which was relayed to the reader. I also liked that he points out how influential personal opinions and beliefs are to scientists. Einstein in particular allowed his personal beliefs about the universe to influence his research, and even Hawking himself was not immune to this. Nor is anyone else, which cause scientists to seek out other explanations because "a lot of people didn't like that idea". This is amusing because the mechanics of the universe don't exist for anyone to like or dislike.

Overall, good book, understandable, and what you'd expect. An enjoyable shorter listen, and I learned something about "black holes and baby universes".

Brilliant book.

I had this book on tape in the late 90s and was delighted to find the same version was available. Strangely the audio quality on the sample sounds like an old 90s cassette but Ty’s actual downloaded version was perfect!

Hawking gives great explanations and his descriptions are witty. For example…
Einstein: “God does not play dice!”
Hawking: “It appears, in fact, that God is an inveterate gambler who sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.”

My Thughts On this Book

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I will freely admit, I didn't undertand everything about it but it did answer questions I've always pondered. I was amused to find that I was right about a couple of them. IF you're interested in science, time travel and Black Holes, I wold strongly suggest you read this book. IT does have words and technological expressions that aren'tmeant for the average layperson but they are well explained, so don't worry abot that.

Why are some people so smart?

This book and the author are an insiration. The author not only understands the Universe, but he tried to help me see what he sees. Even if only for a minute I was hooked.