Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller, A Brief History Of Time, was a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author’s engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subject he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book’s most important concepts.
This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author’s wish to make its content accessible to readers – as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings.
Although this book is literally somewhat ‘briefer’, it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest – including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory – that were difficult to follow because the were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own. This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand on areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest advances in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete, unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book – but even more so – A Briefer History of Time will guide non-scientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.