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.