The mind with the power of singularity has unlocked many mysterious phenomenon of the universe including singularity itself. The legendary physicist Stephen Hawking gave the world a new perception of looking at the cosmos.
He was the man who challenged the work of many scientists and philosophers and also went on to prove that “the universe created itself”.
Furthermore, the black hole theorist extrapolated the work of many physicists making ground breaking discoveries.
Through his books he not only spread his knowledge to the scientific world but also made the insights accessible to general folks with a lesser scientific understanding.
Here we bring to you 10 popular books written by Stephen Hawking, that made him the most appealing physicist of all times.
- A Brief History of Time – First published in 1988 this book covers the basic concepts of space and time, the building blocks of the universe and the fundamental forces that govern the universe in the most extra ordinary way possible.
- The Grand Design – This book explores the theories of various physicists and philosophers over the period of time, comprehending their insights on mysterious cosmological phenomenon and how it rules out the role of a creator in the Grand design of the universe.
- The Universe in a Nutshell – It is his attempt to unify Einstein’s general theory of relativity and Richard Feynmann’s idea of multiple histories to decode the mysteries of the universe. The book speaks about the cutting edge of conceptual physics including the ever disputed contemporary concepts like Black holes, time travel extra dimension, quantum space time, string theory etc.
- A Briefer History of Time – This is a simplified rendition of Stephen Hawking’s 1988 publication ‘A Brief History of Time” . It encompasses quantum mechanics, string theory and the Big bang theory in a manner comprehensible to laymen. The book is a co-authored by American Physicist Leonard Mlodinow
- Black Holes and Baby Universes –The 1993 publication is mainly a compendium of lectures and thesis on the black hole thermodynamics, general relativity, quantum mechanics and so on. In addition the book briefly contemplates his life post the diagnosis of his illness.
Through This book Hawking tries to explain how all physical aspects of the universe are linked to one another unifying all the fundamental interactions of nature. Quantum mechanics, relativity, thermodynamics, the big bang and black holes are the major highlights of the book.
- My Brief History This is an account of Stephen Hawking himself on how his life and intellect progressed along with the fatal condition of his illness.
8. The Nature of Space and Time –A scripted account of an argument between Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking where in they debate about physics and the philosophy of physics.
- On the shoulder of the Giants – As the title suggests it is an obvious compilation of scientific literature written by the giants in the league down the line of history and adorned with Stephen Hawking’s personal interpretation of these existing theories.
- Black Holes: The Reith Lectures– The thing that intrigued the cosmos genius the most for all his life also took a form of a book. This is basically the collection of Stephen Hawking’s lectures arguing that deciphering the very mystery of black holes and their interaction with space and time could resolve mysteries of the bewildering universe
His books are a testimonial to the fact that he viewed every aspect of life through the lens of physics and they are also the best way to experience the magnificence of his imagination.
His work not just enlightened the scientists and cosmology enthusiasts round the globe but also the general public.
Be it the Black holes of the universe or of the ones in his own life, he never let the perplexity of any unexplained phenomenon corrupt his zeal to keep going.
In the words of the man himself – “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”