Excellent book and very easy read. Loved the bit at the end about Einstein, Newton and Galileo. Didn't realise Newton was such a dick.

This is something like a 4.5. I might read it again, but I'd be more inclined to read something different on a similar topic instead.

This branch of science makes seemingly far flung bits of sci fi seem plausible. He snuck in some bits about how the universe might end. That's information I wouldn't seek out on my own, but what's done is done.

Witty and engaging, Hawking can make his expertise digestible to laypeople. I only wish he would say with more certainty that time travel is possible. I want to believe.

When first published in 1988 this book was hugely influential and widely read (or, at least, bought). Reading it again now, there are some problems if what you're after is a brief introduction to the state of physics (mainly) as it stands. Obviously, a lot's happened in the last 40 years and there are going to be things that just aren't covered (those boson things for starters).
Then there's the presentation: a history of scientific discoveries that goes into details about then-recent ideas subsequently overturned. And Hawking is the star of his own book (it strays into biography) attending all sorts of conferences and presenting papers. OK, that's the life of a top-of-the-tree scientist (and, no I'm not a jealous bottom-of-the-pile physicist) but there's a degree of egotism in play here which is occasionally a bit catty.
Finally, there's the God mentions; hoards of them. He's obviously trying to make a point here but I've no idea what it is. If it's the humanist point-of-view then just include a section on "why creationism doesn't stand up"; if he's struggling with some existential doubt them leave it for a different publication.
In summary, too many side issues detract from the main narrative.

Jedna od omiljenih. Brilijantni Hoking.

''Mi živimo naše svakodnevne živote, gotovo uopšre ne razumevajući svet. Izuzmu li se deca koja još ne znaju dovoljno da postavljaju važna pitanja tek se retki medju nama udubljuju u odgonetanje velikih tajni'' po rečima veliko Karl Segana

''Vasiona je bez granica u prostoru, bez početka ili kraja u vremenu, i bez ičega što bi Tvorac tu radio.''

''U teoriji relativnosti, ne postoji jedinstveno apsolutno vreme, već svaka jedinica ima svoje lično merenje vremena koje zavisi od toga gde se nalazi i kako se kreće''

''Najbliža nama zvezda Proksima Kentaura, nalazi se na udaljenosti od oko četiri svetlosne godine. Većina ostalih zvezda koje su vidljive golim okom nalazi se na razdaljini od nekoliko svetlostnih godina od nas''

''Videli smo kako se za manje od pola stoleća preobrazilo čovekovo vidjenje vasione koje se prethodno gradilo hiljadama godina. Hablovo otkriće da se vasiona širi i uvidjanje beznačajnosti naše planete u ogromnosti vasione, bili su samo početak.''

Excellent book!

Really loved Hawking's way of describing everything from the Big Bang to Black Holes. He has a way of explaining this that will expand your mind as well as your knowledge. I've watched a few documentaries on some of the topics and used to accept a few things as 'given'. But here, he amazingly explained them in detail so that you know where those 'given' things came from

Guess he has a great mind after all.

However, there was this part about imaginary time and all that I didn't grasp, and there are some of his views which I don't agree with, of course. So, I'll give it a solid 4.

Recommended.

I found this book very interesting. It does a great job at going into great depth in a topic while still being fairly easy to understand. I like how it explores a lot of one topic making it very informational. I also like how it included history, it didn't just tell you how things are it tells you how we figured out how things are and the wrong theories people made along the way.