Eine kurze Geschichte der Zeit : die Suche nach der Urkraft des Universums

Science. Physics. Nonfiction. HTML:#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking�??s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin�??and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending�??or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and �??arrows of time,�?� of the big bang and a bigger God�??where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very… (more)

Media reviews

The New York Times Book Review

Through his cerebral journeys, Mr. Hawking is bravely taking some of the first, though tentative, steps toward quantizing the early universe, and he offers us a provocative glimpse of the work in progress.

User reviews

LibraryThing member carterchristian1

I feel so uneducated when I realize that I did not know who Hawking was or how important this book was. If I had notfound it in a thrift store a few days ago I would be equally ignorant. It is old, but now reading about science in magazines I realize that I can related the articles to this and

update my information. Terrific.

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LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick

I read this book as I have an interest in Physics, and science in general, and this seemed a good place to start expanding my knowledge on science not touched on in University, where I am studying cell biology. This book is written so a layman, with no knowledge of science, could understand it. I

imagine it will always be hard for some people to get their head around things like space-time, and future light cones, but if anyone is going to get you to understand it, and you want to, then this book will do it. I found it didn't go into enough detail on some things, and obviously from the title, this book is meant to be brief, and as such appeal to a wide audience. Other books will have to be read to get a deeper understanding of the more complicated theories such as super-string, but the author definitely accomplished his objective, to make a super accessible book on basic physics principles and phenomena, such as black holes, space time, light, and the theories of universe, and the quantum particles.

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LibraryThing member mrfalljackets

Okay, I admit it. I really don't see what the fuss is about. I know a woman who keeps this title at the front of her mind ready to drop in conversation whenever she needs a quick validation that she's intelligent or well-read. She'll even place it on her nightstand when staying in hotels so that

people will notice it. I think this book is for people like her. Its popularity notwithstanding there are much better reads on cosmology than this one.

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LibraryThing member Eric_the_Hamster

I think I recall this once being described as the least read best selling book of all time. I think it might have been one of the earlier popular physics books (although Carl Sagan was already on the scene when this came out). I have dipped in and out of it, but it is a bit unfathomable for

ordinary mortals and hamsters with a limited science background. I think I have found Michio Kaku's "Hyperspace : a scientific odyssey through parallel universes, time warps, and the tenth dimension" a bit easier to read (if "easy" can be applied to any of these - the reader really has to work that bit harder to get his or head round concepts which it is difficult to summarise on the back of a postcard!) - Great reading if you let the ideas flow over you, and just revisit from time to time.

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LibraryThing member unwinm

Almost too well known to need description but rather over-rated (or perhaps just over-hyped) in the opinion of this reviewer, particularly compared to other contemporary books in the genre such as John Gribbin's excellent "In Search of the Big Bang" or Stephen Weinberg's now classic "The First

Three Minutes". Hawking thoroughly deserves his reputation as one of the most influential cosmologists of his time, but this doesn't necessarily make him a good writer of popular science. "A Brief History" quickly gets into deep territory, and would be a challenging read for anyone who is delving into cosmology for the first time.

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LibraryThing member melydia

I finally finished this book. It's engaging, witty, and of course fascinating, but all the same I had to read it in spurts. Most of it was not new information, but it helped solidify a lot of concepts in my head through analogies plucked from real life. I'm still a tad shaky on string theory, but I

do have a better understanding of black holes than I did before. This is what a layman's science book should be like: no equations or jargon, lots of pictures, and a very friendly narrative tone.

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LibraryThing member JBD1

Glad I finally picked this up off the "to-read" shelf. There are a bunch more amusing asides than I expected, which were a nice surprise. I'm not sure Hawking gets the pitch right throughout the book (sometimes the level of technical detail is very low, sometimes it's very high) but overall it's a

very interesting book.

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LibraryThing member jhudsui

As far as the writing goes, it's the kind of trainwreck that happens when one's scholarly reputation becomes so towering that one's jokes are placed beyond criticism.

LibraryThing member ejp1082

There are geniuses, and then there's people like Stephen Hawking.

There are many people who are smart enough to become experts in modern physics, or any similarly complex and difficult field. There are precious fewer who are smart enough to become unqalified experts in their field, and be able to

communicate the subject material back to a layman in accessible, easy to understand language, as Hawking has done here.

Unfortunately the field is moving so fast that already much of the material covered is outdated; but nevertheless it remains a terrific introduction to modern physics and cosmology for anyone that's interested in the subject.

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LibraryThing member Palunboy

Anyone who enjoys reading physics or astronomy books ... or anyone who enjoys knowing how things work (like I do!) would enjoy this explanation from Steven Hawking of how we have gotten to where we are... cosmologically.

LibraryThing member soylentgreen23

I term it "Hawking's Disease." It has nothing to do with motor neurones, and everything to do with the man himself.

"Hawking's Disease" is simple to explain: it is the phenomenon of a great cultural shift in favour of a person because of the hardships he has overcome, rather than for any particular

piece of work done for the benefit of humanity.

In this context, the disease connects very neatly to the book - owned by many, read by few. It is an okay treatise as far as these things go, but I have read better, and I have read more accessible tomes. The hype is greater than the book could ever satisfy.

If you want to get into Physics, this is fine but take heed, and do not be sucked in. String theory, the topic with which Hawking concludes, is becoming more and more discredited. There are other sources of information better than this - keep looking and you'll find treasure.

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LibraryThing member Griff

It is a nice treat to read a book suggested by one's 16 year-old son. I picked up Stephen Hawking's booked based on his advice and spent an enjoyable week learning how much physics has changed since my college days in the 1970s. I will admit, despite his almost conversational tone and use of

familiar analogies, I was occasionally lost as Hawking talked about imaginary time, singularities, and 1/2 spin. Still, he always brings it back to a point of telling one in plain language what the implication of all the jargon is. It is awe inspiring to reflect on the power of the minds trying to describe the world around us - from the smallest particles (whether virtual or otherwise) to the most vast expanse imaginable (or unimaginable).

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LibraryThing member matos.ca.07

Very interesting book from one of the most incredible minds of our time. On several sections, I found it dificult to understand, specialy on sections with deep explanations, likely due to my ignorance on the subject. I enjoyed the chapters about Black Holes, Origin and Fate of the Universe and the

Conclusion.

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LibraryThing member pathlessness

A comprehensible book to all about major theories in physics, the principle and the history.

LibraryThing member lovell

makes complicated ideas easier to understand. I give it to smart year 10 students.

LibraryThing member bell7

The theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and the search for a unified theory of the universe are the subjects of this mind-boggling investigation of physics (I found I could read about 5 pages at a time without my brain hurting). Perhaps I was even more at a disadvantage for never having taken

physics in high school. Even so, it's ultimately a rewarding learning experience reading about the universe as we know it. I'm interested in learning more, and daresay I'll understand more for having persevered through this title.

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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Many interesting bits, but he lost me in some places, particularly near the end. I'm no mathematician, but some of his statements might have been better (more clearly) expressed with mathematics - it frequently felt like the only thing supporting a statement was that Hawking was making it. It was

annoying enough that I didn't review it immediately after I read it (though I did rate), and at this point (three months later) most of the information is completely gone. All I really remember is the part about the universe being finite in imaginary time whether or not it is in real time...and that makes very little sense to me (yes, admittedly, most of higher mathematics doesn't make sense in any concrete way). I may try A Briefer History of Time and see if that one conveys any more to me.

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LibraryThing member StrokeBoy

A fun and very interesting book. Learn about astro-physics, black holes and string theory in laymans terms.

LibraryThing member mreyero

Brilliant! I have not been so excited and learned so much about any subject in a very long time (and that is a major claim, given that as a researcher I am constantly reading something and learning interesting things often). Brilliant, simply brilliant.

LibraryThing member armyofbobs

Just a little dated, but he's an entertaining writer.

LibraryThing member DanoWins

A very good book. It is well written with the layman in mind. It would be very easy for Mr. Hawking, or any theoretical physicist for that matter, to write well above the heads of us English majors! Not only is the book relatively easy to understand, it is interesting as well.

LibraryThing member mikefitch

Time isn't after us and time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future.
(credit to The Talking Heads and Steve Miller)

LibraryThing member librisissimo

Substance: Readable explanation of the "big theories" of physics, c. 1988.

LibraryThing member TheCrow2

An absolute classic of popular science about the life, the universe and everything.... Well-written, easy to read. The only hinderance is time.... it's more than 20 years old and this interval counts a lot in physics .

LibraryThing member giant_bug

repeat after me,
stephen hawking is not the modern isaac newton
stephen hawking is not the modern isaac newton
stephen hawking is not the modern isaac newton
stephen hawking is not the modern isaac newton
...

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