A Brief History of Time

Cover
Author	Stephen Hawking
Language	English
Genre(s)	popular science
Publisher	Bantam Books
Publication date	1988

A Brief History of Time is a popular science book written by Professor Stephen Hawking and first published in 1988. It rapidly became a best-seller, and had sold 9 million copies by 2002. It was also on the London Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.^[1] Image File history File links BriefHistoryTime. ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is not about the magazine, Popular Science Popular science is interpretation of science intended for a general audience, rather than for other scientists or students. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is not about the magazine, Popular Science Popular science is interpretation of science intended for a general audience, rather than for other scientists or students. ... For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

There is also a documentary by the same name, directed by Errol Morris and released in 1991. Unlike the book, the documentary is primarily a biography of Stephen Hawking. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Errol Morris Errol Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American Academy Award winning documentary film director. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Book contents

A Brief History of Time attempts to explain a range of subjects in cosmology, including the Big Bang, black holes, light cones and superstring theory, to the nonspecialist reader. Its main goal is to give an overview of the subject but, unusual for a popular science book, it also attempts to explain some complex mathematics. This article is about the physics subject. ... For other uses, see Big Bang (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Black hole (disambiguation). ... In special relativity, a light cone is the pattern describing the temporal evolution of a flash of light in Minkowski spacetime. ... Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modeling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ...

The author notes that an editor warned him that for every equation in the book the readership would be halved, hence it includes only a single equation: E = mc². An equation is a mathematical statement, in symbols, that two things are the same (or equivalent). ... 15ft sculpture of Einsteins 1905 E = mc² formula at the 2006 Walk of Ideas, Germany In physics, mass-energy equivalence is the concept that all mass has an energy equivalence, and all energy has a mass equivalence. ...

In addition to Hawking's abstinence from equations, the book also simplifies matters by means of illustrations throughout the text, depicting complex models and diagrams.

The book is considered by many to be an "unread bestseller"[1] which is a book many people own but few have finished.

Editions

• 1988. First Edition. This edition included a foreword or introduction by Carl Sagan that tells the following story: Sagan was in London in 1974 (presumably for a SETI conference), and between sessions wandered into a different room, where a larger meeting was taking place. "At the front of the room, a young man in a wheelchair was signing his name very slowly in a very large book, which bore on an earlier page the name of Isaac Newton. I realised that I was watching an ancient ceremony: the induction of a new Fellow into the Royal Society." The young man was, of course, Hawking, already famous in his field but not famous worldwide until the publication of this improbable bestseller by this improbable author. (The foreword disappeared after the first edition, or perhaps the first printing. It was copyrighted by Sagan, rather than by Hawking or the publisher, and the publisher did not have the right to reprint it forever.)

• 1996 — Illustrated, updated and expanded edition. This hardbound edition contained full colour illustrations and photographs to help further explain the text, as well as the addition of topics that were not included in the original book.

• 1998 — The Tenth Anniversary Edition — Is the same text as the previous published in 1996, but was also released in paperback and has only a few diagrams included.

September of 2005 saw the release of A Briefer History of Time (a collaboration with Leonard Mlodinow), which is an abridged version of the original book. It was updated again to address new issues that have arisen due to further scientific development. Insert non-formatted text here Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer and astrobiologist and a highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics, and other natural sciences. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. ... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ... For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover of A Briefer History of Time A Briefer History of Time (2005, ISBN 0553804367) is the latest popular-science book from the English physicist Stephen Hawking and the American physicist Leonard Mlodinow. ... Leonard Mlodinow is popular science writer and the author of Euclids window and Feynmans Rainbow. ...

Film

Main article: A Brief History of Time (film)

In 1991, Errol Morris directed a documentary film about Hawking, but although they share a title, the film is a biographical study of Hawking, not a filmed version of the book. A Brief History of Time is a 1992 biopic about Stephen Hawking directed by Errol Morris. ... The year 1991 in film involved many significant films. ... Errol Morris Errol Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American Academy Award winning documentary film director. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ...

In pop culture

This Book has made its mark on American pop culture. In the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ian Brown (lead singer of the Stone Roses) is seen sitting in the Leaky Cauldron reading this book. The book makes an appearance in the film Donnie Darko when Donnie's teacher shows him the book during a conversation about time travel. In the 2001 comedy film Legally Blonde, starring Reese Witherspoon, one of the Harvard students on Elle Woods' first day mentions, "It has been suggested that Stephen Hawking stole his Brief History of Time from my fourth-grade paper." Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy adventure film, based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. ... Ian George Brown (born February 20, 1963) is an English musician and former lead singer of the indie rock/Madchester band The Stone Roses. ... The classic line-up at the time of Spike Island The Stone Roses were one of the most influential bands to come out of Britain during the late 1980s and early 90s. ... The Leaky Cauldron is the name of a pub in London in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series that can only be seen by wizards or witches. ... For the fictional character, see Donald Darko. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... Legally Blonde is a 2001 comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon, produced by Marc E. Platt for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios and directed by Robert Luketic. ... Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon[1] (born March 22, 1976) is an American film actress, who has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Academy Award. ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ...

• MC Hawking, a nerdcore hip hop artist who parodies Stephen, named his album A Brief History of Rhyme.
• In the episode What We Did On Our Summer Vacation of the TV show The Adventures of Pete & Pete, the character Ellen is seen reading the book.
• In the film Addams Family Values, Joel Glicker is briefly shown holding it after stating why he is in the Harmony Hut.
• In "Weird Al" Yankovic's music clip of his song "White & Nerdy", where "Weird Al" claims that he has Stephen Hawking in his library, while holding this book.
• In "Weird Al" Yankovic's American Library Association Celebrity "READ" Poster.
• In the episode Not in Portland of the TV show Lost, one of the Others is seen reading the book while on guard duty. Additionally, the book was seen on Ben Linus's kitchen table in The Man from Tallahassee.
• In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy Billy was assigned to write a report according to a book called "A Not So Brief History of Time" which he confused for a horror story.
• In John Safran vs. God, John Safran comments on the book being an "unread bestseller," saying that readers amongst the left their "bookmarks exactly where they left it nine years ago, on page 3."
• The book has been featured in the Megadeth Documentary by Frederic Wallace in a poster in Dave Mustain's Living Room
• The book is frequently cited by Oskar Schell, the nine-year-old protagonist in Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
• In the movie Phenomenon starring John Travolta in which he gains incredible intelligence the character George Malley owns this book as part of his everyday reading.

MC Hawking is a fictional nerdcore artist who gained some popularity in the early 2000s, largely due to the availability of his music on the Internet. ... Nerdcore hip hop, or geeksta rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music that is performed by nerds or geeks, and is characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds, though it can appeal to others as well. ... The Adventures of Pete & Pete was a U.S. television series produced and broadcast by the Nickelodeon cable channel. ... Addams Family Values (1993) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated sequel to the 1991 comedy The Addams Family. ... This article is about the musician himself. ... Straight Outta Lynwood track listing White & Nerdy Pancreas Canadian Idiot Ill Sue Ya Polkarama! Virus Alert Confessions Part III Weasel Stomping Day Close But No Cigar Do I Creep You Out Trapped in the Drive-Thru Dont Download This Song White & Nerdy is the second single from Weird... This article is about the musician himself. ... ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ... List of Lost episodes Not in Portland is the seventh episode of the third season of Lost. ... “LOST” redirects here. ... The Others (also known as Them, The Natives, and The Hostiles) are a group of fictional characters who inhabit the island in the American television series Lost; most of whom serve as the antagonists to the series main characters. ... Benjamin Ben Linus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Michael Emerson. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, created by Maxwell Atoms, is an American animated television series that currently airs on Cartoon Network and Teletoon. ... John Safran vs God was an 8 part television documentary series by John Safran broadcast on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) of Australia in 2004. ... This Australian media personality is not to be confused with the American author Jonathan Safran Foer. ... Jonathan Safran Foer This American author is not to be confused with the Australian media personality John Safran. ...

References

1. ^ Hawking, Stephen (1988). A Brief History of Time. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-38016-8. 

See also

• A Briefer History of Time (Hawking and Mlodinow book)
• Turtles all the way down

Cover of A Briefer History of Time A Briefer History of Time (2005, ISBN 0553804367) is the latest popular-science book from the English physicist Stephen Hawking and the American physicist Leonard Mlodinow. ... Turtles all the way down. ...

External links

• Photos of the first edition of A Brief History of Time