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A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking · 1988

Science
Cover of A Brief History of Time

From the Big Bang to Black Holes

Stephen Hawking's landmark work made the most profound questions in physics accessible to everyone. From the nature of time and the Big Bang to black holes and the search for a unified theory, Hawking guides readers through the history of cosmology with wit, clarity, and an infectious sense of wonder that turned theoretical physics into a global conversation.

A Brief History of Time spent a record-breaking 237 weeks on the Sunday Times bestseller list and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. It demonstrated that there was an enormous appetite among ordinary people for deep scientific ideas, and it transformed Hawking into the most recognizable scientist since Einstein.

Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?
— Stephen Hawking
from A Brief History of Time
We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.
— Stephen Hawking
from A Brief History of Time
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
— Stephen Hawking
from A Brief History of Time
However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.
— Stephen Hawking
from A Brief History of Time
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