Cosmologie · Temps (durée) · Espace-temps
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes
1988241 pages✦ 3-min Big ideas★ 4.1 (236)
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What is A Brief History of Time about?
Stephen Hawking's ‘A Brief History of Time* has become an international publishing phenomenon. Translated into thirty languages, it has sold over ten million copies worldwide and lives on as a science book that continues to captivate and inspire new readers each year. When it was first published in 1988 the ideas discussed in it were at the cutting edge of what was then known about the universe. In the intervening twenty years there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and macro-cosmic world. Indeed, during that time cosmology and the theoretical sciences have entered a new golden age . Professor Hawking is one of the major scientists and thinkers to have contributed to this renaissance.
A glimpse inside
The Nature of Time and Space
Hawking explores what time and space really are, challenging everyday assumptions. He discusses how time is not absolute but can bend and stretch, as described by Einstein’s theory of relativity. This means that time can move differently depending on gravity and speed, upending our intuitive understanding. Hawking also delves into the concept of a finite yet unbounded universe, likening it to the surface of the Earth—without edges, but not infinite.
The Big Bang and the Origin of the Universe
One of the book’s central topics is the Big Bang theory, which posits that the universe began as a singularity—a point of infinite density and temperature. Hawking explains how evidence from cosmic background radiation and the expansion of galaxies supports this idea. He also discusses the possibility of a universe with no boundary, suggesting that asking what happened before the Big Bang may be meaningless.
Ratings at a glance
Open Library
★ 4.1 / 5
236 ratings
✦
Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
- 1The Nature of Time and Space
- 2The Big Bang and the Origin of the Universe
- 3Black Holes and Singularities
- 4The Unification of Physics
- 5The Role of Uncertainty and Probability
Popular quotes from A Brief History of Time
“If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?”
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.”
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Frequently asked
Stephen Hawking's ‘A Brief History of Time* has become an international publishing phenomenon. Translated into thirty languages, it has sold over ten million copies worldwide and lives on as a science book that continues to captivate and inspire new readers each year. When it was first published in 1988 the ideas discussed in it were at the cutting edge of what was then known about the universe. I