Stephen Hawking

Few scientists are as recognizable as Stephen Hawking. Despite having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease)—an affliction that many experts expected to have killed him decades ago—Hawking remains a vital and influential voice in the scientific community. One of the leading cosmologists studying the celestial phenomenon known as black holes, Hawking has also led the way in popularizing science with his best-selling work A Brief History of Time. This biography of Hawking, written by a physicist, provides an accessible introduction to the life and work of an inspirational figure.Stephen Hawking: A Biography provides an overview of the life and work of this brilliant scientist that can be read and appreciated by students and lay people alike. The author examines many aspects of his fascinating career: Hawking's childhood and early education, and the shocking diagnosis of his disease. His early scientific work on black holes that cemented his reputation as a scientist. How Hawking managed to remain a productive scientist and scholar despite having a debilitating illness. The publication and success of the best-selling book A Brief History of Time, which changed the face of popular science publishing. The book includes a list of resources for further information, and a timeline of important events in the life of Hawking. Several appendices explain the details of Hawking's scientific work in more detail for those students seeking more information.

"[T]he story of his life.... is told with sympathy, and skilfully interwoven with the developments in Hawking's pioneering theories in cosmology, black holes in particular, and the search for the theory of everything... [A]n intriguing work. Early in her book, the author says that Hawking does not like biographies, so would probably not read this one. Want a bet?" - Gnomon, "In an elegant, pristine universe black holes are decidedly messy. Apprentice physicists may try to sweep them under the cosmic carpet and hope no one notices the lump. The masters, like Hawking, relish the messy bits, the structure of space-time, the no-boundary concept, the baby universe. Larsen makes such messy bits, and Hawking's expertise in straightening them out, accessible to general readers and sets the concepts within the framework of Hawking's career and personal life. As a result, along with explanations of the theory of everything we learn why Hawking turns up so much in the media as one of the greatest and certainly one of the most easily described physicists on the planet." - SciTech Book News, "His devilishly complex cosmological theories are handled engagingly in accessible language for the lay reader. [T]his is a touching portrait that will grace any bookshelf." - Astronomy Now, "[T]his is a well-written introduction to Hawking and his work that is worth having." - SB&F

Kristine Larsen is Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Central Connecticut State University.