Hawking, in his best-selling "A Brief History of Time", introduced the lay reader to the big questions in science - where did we come from, why are we here, what is the meaning of life. He answered with an optimism and a passionate belief that science ... or Science ... was on the verge of the big break through. Sometime, in the next few years, it would discover the answer, and we would all sit back and go, "Ohhhh".

Unfortunately, this universal theory of everything has not materialised ... and there are many in the scientific community who would argue that it is now less likely we will discover the meaning of life than it was when Hawking first wrote his "Brief History of Time".

In the meantime, we have M-Theory, which tries to fill in the gaps. Hawking delivers an excellent explanation and exploration, but a number of critics have insisted his account is a bit sparse in places ... that the theory doesn't quite mesh together.

"The Universe in a Nutshell" is, therefore, and somewhat ironically, your starter for ten. Hawking's direct, economical style will capture your interest and your enthusiasm. You will enjoy the lavish illustrations and be engrossed by the man's capacity to reason and argue. But you may also decide you'd like to read more. If Hawking can induce you to keep searching, he will have done you a service and proved what a master communicator he is.


Beautiful Book, Beautiful Physics   July 30, 2004
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

As it says on the cover of this beautiful book it is the sequel to 'A Brief History of Time' and won the 2002 Aventis Prize. It starts, like its predecessor by explaining lucidly some of the bare bones of modern physics; the first chapter is one of the best descriptions of relativity I've read. By the second chapter we are already discussing how the shape of time can be reconciled with quantum theory and from then on each chapter deals with some of the most interesting pieces of cosmology and physics including branes, time travel, the multiple histories of the universe and, of course, black holes. This is riveting stuff and as ever it is described as clearly as it could be. He also diverges to ponder if intelligence has long term survival value, what our future holds, the philosophy of time travel and whether we could predict the future.

Hawking was told in his last book that it wouldn't sell half as well if he included even one equation but in this one there are quite a few, describing the most fundamental aspects of the world. As well as letting equations in he also has made this a lot more challenging than his first book and, in the process, a lot more exciting. This is certainly one of those books that you leave with a profound sense of wonder. Unlike the last book he did lose me at times for example when demonstrating how you could travel back in time, but I was glad not disheartened. The excellent graphics simultaneously aiding your understanding and make this the best looking physics book around.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I much preferred it to his first book as it is not scared of whipping through the basics in order to get onto the really amazing parts or making you think about mind stretching concepts. It is one of those rare gems that manage to completely fill the reader with a sense of excitement and a bit of baffled awe at the same time.


A Mandala of the Universe   July 9, 2004
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Stephen Hawking is a phenomenon of our age. We are all familiar with his tragic form: confined by Lou Gehrig's disease to a wheelchair, unable to move, his great mind reduced to communicating through the medium of an unearthly computerized voice. Just as we sometimes believe the blind are gifted with second sight or uncanny musical ability, most of us can't help suspecting that Hawking has been compensated for his disability by being granted a special insight into the true nature of our Universe, that he has somehow seen privileged to somehow "see the face of God."

Such notions were no doubt behind the incredible success of his first book, "A Brief History of Time" (1988). Considering the difficulty of the subject matter, which can best be expressed through complex mathematical formula, and the fact that it was the first book of its kind to top bestseller lists around the world, this work soon became notorious as the most unread book of all time.

With the release of "The Universe in a Nutshell," the great physicist has descended from the Mount Sinai of scientific wisdom with a fresh set of tablets engraved with the secrets of the Universe. Keen to avoid the mistakes of the first work, this book is markedly more accessible, less text heavy, and extremely well illustrated, with half the book consisting of various diagrams that enable the reader to get the gist of such advanced concepts as 11-dimensional supergravity, multi-dimensional spacetime, p-branes, string theory, and time loops, to mention a few.

Most of the concepts presented here are pure mathematical constructs that have little chance of being empirically proven or disproven for some time yet. They therefore exist rather as a Buddhist mandala does, helping us to contemplate, without fully understanding, the immense mystery of our Universe.

With a style reminiscent of the science writer Isaac Asimov, the book succeeds in being a lot more readable. Inevitably this has brought charges of 'dumbing down' and oversimplification. "The Universe in a Nutshell" nevertheless remains a challenging and entertaining read, and ideal as the kind of book you want to leave lying around at home to give visitors an idea of just how deep and intellectual you really are (even if you aren't).


superbly illustrated and modern but ...   July 8, 2004
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is an excellent new popular science book, it is the best in its own kind. Although I am doing a Maths & Physics degree I sometimes find it a bit difficult to follow. I hardly imagin a non-scientist could follow it smoothly. But the language is relatively easy.
It is worth every penny to buy this book as it is ahead of its time and is a beauty in anyone's library.


Beautifully Simple Brilliance!   July 4, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The Universe in a Nutshell is the best popular science book I have ever read. Professor Stephen Hawking deserves many more than five stars for this book!

If you have any interest in understanding the latest attempts to create a unified scientific Theory of Everything in the universe, this is the book for you. Professor Hawking has combined many perspectives to show how Einstein's special and general theories of relativity have been updated to explain the big bang, black holes, and an expanding universe; superstring theory; p-branes; how many dimensions the universe has; whether the future can be predicted in a deterministic way; whether time travel is possible; how science will transform our biological and thinking futures in the context of Star Trek technology; and M-theory to consider whether "we live on a brane or are we just holograms?" Although any of these subjects can be found in popular science books, few such books discuss all of them simply and intelligently in terms of each other from the theoretical perspective and experimental evidence.

Those who wonder what science has to say about religious ideas will find this book valuable, for Professor Hawking is unafraid to address questions about whether there can be a beginning to the universe in a scientific sense. What could or could not have preceded the big bang?

Fans of A Brief History of Time (1988) will find that Professor Hawking has made two changes to make this book more accessible to the nonphysicist. First, he as written the book so that you can follow the argument solely through the many beautiful and helpful illustrations and their captions. The method parallels the one he used successfully in the 1996 book, The Illustrated Brief History of Time. Second, only the first two chapters are required reading to understand the rest of the book. You can read chapters 3-7 in any order after the first two, which means that you can get into the material that will be of most interest to you much sooner!

Professor Hawking's sense of humor also lightens the subject a lot. The book has witticisms, puns, and visual jokes galore to make you chuckle, from funny Shakespearean quotes ("I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space." Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2), to images from his appearance in the Star Trek: Next Generation television show (where he won at poker with Einstein . . . and had a mysterious visitor sit on his lap), to tales of bets lost and won, to unexpected comments about the effect of airline food on your life expectancy.

To make the material less dense, he also includes biographical information about the quirks of the physicists who have made these marvelous discoveries.

If you are fairly knowledgeable about physics, you will find this a fairly quick read . . . but one that will stimulate new flights of thought that can keep you busy for years. For example, he describes the physical limits of population growth and electricity being reached on earth by 2600. Then he goes on to speculate about how knowledge expansion through books can carry us forward faster to solutions than our geometric physical expansion. The future may well include major changes in the physical qualities of what a human is, a better connection between our brains and our electronic extensions, and the need to solve a delicate problem of where we should design for speed . . . and where for handling more complexity.

My favorite chapter was the one on predicting the future. My next favorite one related to the relevance of Star Trek to our future. I found the chapter on the Universe in a Nutshell to be the most fascinating as Professor Hawking explains the case for multiple histories occurring based on Richard Feynman's work.

Ultimately, one of the beauties of this book is the marvelous human spirit behind it. Professor Hawking seems like Leonardo to me, bought forward to today to challenge us to be our best as people and as thinkers. I feel honored to sit and learn at his feet.

I recommend that you reread this book once a year, because your thinking will be stimulated again and again by this outstanding overview of how all of our theories of reality may fit together.

One of the lessons of this book is that much of what we think of as "fact" is merely a convenient approximation of a more complex circumstance. Newton's thinking about gravity is a good example. Where in your life do you need to know with as much precision as possible, and where will approximations work just fine? Making that choice well can be the most important talent you can develop.

See beyond your limited perspective to the pulsing reality around us!