My Brief History (Deckle Edge) Hardcover

Product Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Stephen Hawking has dazzled readers worldwide with a string of bestsellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, perhaps the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inward for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution.
 
My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking’s improbable journey, from his postwar London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. Lavishly illustrated with rarely seen photographs, this concise, witty, and candid account introduces readers to a Hawking rarely glimpsed in previous books: the inquisitive schoolboy whose classmates nicknamed him Einstein; the jokester who once placed a bet with a colleague over the existence of a particular black hole; and the young husband and father struggling to gain a foothold in the world of physics and cosmology.
 
Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time—one of the iconic books of the twentieth century.
 
Clear-eyed, intimate, and wise, My Brief History opens a window for the rest of us into Hawking’s personal cosmos.

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• First Edition and First Printing

Top Reviews

A history brief, simple and sweet
by Ashutosh S. Jogalekar (4 out of 5 stars)
September 10, 2013

Stephen Hawking is not only a great scientist but he is also an exemplar of grit, optimism and good humor. He is as famous for his triumph over a devastating disease and his determined survival as he is for his scientific brilliance. His book "A Brief History of Time" introduced millions of people to the wonders of the universe. This short memoir now introduces people to his own life which has not been any less wondrous. Those who have read the biographies by John Gribbin and Michael White or by Jane Hawking may not find much that is new in here, but the book definitely benefits from Hawking's simple and illuminating writing style and dry sense of humor. Suffering from an illness like ALS can definitely lead someone to express themselves with economy and clarity.

As the title indicates, the book is very short (144 pages) and is divided into even shorter chapters. Each chapter is more like a snippet that focuses on one particular topic. The earlier chapters deal with Hawking's upbringing in London as the son of caring and slightly eccentric parents, his education at Oxford and Cambridge and his initial struggles with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Hawking gives us a good idea of the pioneering research on black holes and the Big Bang which he did with Roger Penrose and others. There are also anecdotes about other scientists like Richard Feynman and encounters with celebrities like Popes and Presidents. Hawking talks unflinchingly about his disease without a hint of self-pity, and this is a quality that continues to make him so widely admired, sometimes to the point of reverence.

The later chapters deal with his current research on quantum gravity, his various trips to different parts of the world (including a few weeks spent every year at Caltech) and his two divorces. One revealing part of the book is Hawking's description of the several occasions on which he was on the brink of death; it was only the dedication of his wives, Jane and Elaine, that saved his life. Old and new photographs (some showcasing Hawking's bawdy sense of humor) enliven the narrative. The book ends on a characteristically optimistic note. Hawking says that his devastating illness has not held him back from fully living life and he is grateful for his gifts and for the support others have given him. There's some useful advice there for all of us.
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Part personal and part his science...FASCINATING!
by Luchi1012 (5 out of 5 stars)
June 15, 2015

Ever since I saw the movie, "Theory of Everything", life of Stephen Hawking, I have been a bit obsessed with him. I read this book twice, first from the library, then my own copy :). His life is an amazing story. He was diagnosed with ALS at 21 and given 2-3 years to live! He was born January, 1942 and is already 73! He is still working, writing books and traveling. Years ago he lost his ability to use his hands and later lost speech. His brain is a genius living in a body that can't do much but keep him alive. Witty and clever and at times charming, he has received almost every honor available to a scientist by governments, institutions, and churches. The book is brief and gives some insight into his life-very interesting- has a few chapters on his science--which goes over my head--but fascinating to know what his passion is. It has lots of great pictures of family and professional colleagues. I am so glad he has lived long enough to contribute so much to his field. (And to be around for his three children, of whom he is rightfully proud.) Now I am reading his ex-wife's book about their 25 year marriage, on which the movie was based. WOW!
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Stephen Hawking escapes death for decades.
by AFREEZE (4 out of 5 stars)
June 1, 2018

Stephen Hawking My Brief History.

A Memoir

By Stephen Hawking

Published in Great Britain by Transworld Publishers, 2013. Bantam Edition. Pages: 127

Special features: many photographs from throughout his life

Price - $10.48 or £8.99

ISBN: 9780857502636

Stephen Hawking, a brilliant man, a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis writes a memoir in anticipation of his death however, death did not come as soon as expected. The author, Stephen Hawking, wrote about his life as a brilliant scientist, a husband, a father, and a man living with an incurable disease. Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death. He received his education at both Oxford and Cambridge and is the author of numerous books and scientific articles in which he wrote through use of augmentative and alternative communication.

Hawking wrote this memoir himself with use of his AAC technology, an eye tracking system, that he was able to use on his computer to type. Basically, instead of typing with his hands he typed with his eyes. He had a little help after the initial writing from a literary agent, Al Zuckerman, and then before publishing Bantam's editor Peter Guzzardi helped rewrite and revise his work before its final publishing. His book was an easy read in my opinion with clear chapters and thought out ideas. I am impressed by his ability to write the majority of this book himself and just through use of his eyes to type. It could not have been easy for a man using AAC to write an entire book. He must have had a lot of patience, perseverance, and practice with his technology in order to write such great literary works over his lifetime.

This book would be great for someone looking for a brief insight into Hawking's overall life. I was not interested in the majority of the science jargon he spoke of but science and theoretical research is much of how he spent his life I found out. I was primarily interested in Hawking's book because he had a disease, ALS, in which as a future speech-language pathology is a disease I am interested in. ALS relates to speech pathology in that individuals with ALS lose the ability to use their voice and have to rely on augmentative and alternative ways to communicate. He received a tracheotomy which took away his ability to speak "For a time, the only way I could communicate was to spell out words letter by letter by raising my eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card" (Hawking, pg. 85). He had multiple increases in technology over his lifetime living with ALS and the one he spoke of most was a device called an equalizer which worked with an eye tracking system so he could continue to live his life even without a voice. He would use the eye tracking device to spell or select what he wanted to say and the device was able to say it out loud for him.

His memoir opened my eyes to how much of his life he lived being cared for by person after person. I was surprised that he spent the majority of his life traveling, moving, and having so many different care takers. At one point he was being cared for by students "I also had one of my research students live with us. He helped me with getting up and going to bed and some meals..." (Hawking, pg. 77). I cannot imagine being married, two children in the house, and now a student all under one roof. It must not have been easy on his wife and family living with his disease and having to have additional people in the house caring for your father or husband. Hawking had a great outlook on life, he spoke of his first wife's depression on more than one occasion and how she struggled to cope with having children along with her husband's disability. He kept a positive attitude and was motivated by the possibility of death being soon and he was determined to work hard and make a difference before death. "When you are faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are lots of things you want to do" (Hawking, pg. 37). In his memoir he did not speak of the bad times, the struggles, or the pain, he only spoke of the positives which amazed me and says a lot about his character.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Stephen Hawking and who is looking for a brief look into what his life was like. The book was insightful and eye opening to what a long life with the disease ALS is like. His memoir was inspiring and uplifting to think that you can be successful even without a voice.
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No substance
by Italiana224 (2 out of 5 stars)
January 19, 2019

Very impersonal and technical. He discusses the science and thought behind many of his theories and discoveries. Very little content on his personal and private life. Very dry and honestly boring during many parts. I was hoping for an intimate peek behind the scientist, but instead got an astronomy lecture on black holes and the theory of relativity.
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Stephen's Life
by C. S. (4 out of 5 stars)
October 8, 2013

Having known Stephen since he was about ten, this book was a bit of a disappointment in the parts of his life it omitted or sketched over and the shortage of more early life pictures that had not already been published. I understand his difficulty in writing an autobiography, but at 127 sparsely filled pages, that is not much, and I am sure a co-written biography would have worked better and also would have given us more of the sort of view that I and others had of him. I am glad that he confirms that he did Natural Sciences 'A' Levels at St. Albans and was not in the Math's set, as I was, because I have been contradicted many times on this.It was also good to see a picture of the telephone exchange which we dismantled to make the Math's Set Logical Computer.

I would however like to say that reading Stephen's Books led me to find God in a way that I never expected for which I will be eternally grateful.
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Very inspiring!
by manoj awasthi (5 out of 5 stars)
December 21, 2014

Just finished up reading the autobiography of the great physicist Stephen Hawking. His biography is true to its title - it's brief. It's awe-inspiring though.

He has kept the book less technical and more focussed on his personal as well as professional life.

I will not brief the book here but would mention about last chapter which is titled "No Boundaries". In this chapter, Hawking writes that while he contracted Motor Neuron disease when he was just 21 and while he did feel that it was unfair at that time - fifety years later - while writing the book he is quietly satisfied with his life. He got married twice, has three accomplished children, has been successful in scientific career and is one of the best known scientist in the world (of the order of Albert Einstein), has traveled to all continents except one (Austrailia, not Antarctica), has met representatives from many countries, has been awarded for his work in Physics, couldn't get Noble Prize only because his work in theoretical physics is hard for experimentation, and people love him.

There is a movie to be released may be this year or next based on this book. Search for: The Theory of Everything Official Trailer (2014)
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If you admire Dr Hawking read his books,All of them.He Was a great Teacher& Made excellent Explanati
by Maureen E. Thompson MD (5 out of 5 stars)
March 22, 2018

The life of this man was so difficult -yet he

Was working with dedication to learn more to give to the world. Saddest thing

His death before his last book out.

The best thing his ashes to be put at rest

Near Newton but he deserved a lot more

Attention
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Interesting but...
by Herbert W. Happel (4 out of 5 stars)
October 29, 2013

I am a great admirer of Stephen Hawking. I have read and re-read "A Brief History of Time" without pretending to understand most of it. His genius as well as his illness has marked him as a towering figure in the history of science as well as in life. I did not rate this book five stars because while it was interesting I felt it was too superficial. I guess I was looking for more in depth treatment of Hawking the man; his feelings, his family, his non-scientific opinions. Maybe it is difficult to write about ones self in that way but if I have one criticism of this book it is that Dr. Hawking is too modest about himself. I would recommend this writing for any Hawking fan with the caution of not expecting too much that was not already known. Hopefully one day there will be a biography of Stephen Hawking that explores the depth of this extraordinary individual.
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Entertaining and objective
by Richard Peres (4 out of 5 stars)
February 2, 2019

This is an excellent little book that provides insight into the life of the author and his scientific achievements all with a sense of humor. However the last 10 pages in which he explains space time are completely unintelligible to the average person.
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Great Book - The Pictures Are Probably The Most Interesting Part
by squall-leonhart-8 (5 out of 5 stars)
October 5, 2013

This was a great book by Stephen Hawking about his own life. Like most of his books, it is short (it's incredible that he's been able to write and do so much while suffering from ALS, so you can't expect a thousand-page tome). The first half of the book is about Hawking's childhood, and then he discusses his time in college and getting into academics, which leads into the latter part of the book discussing less about his life and more about his theories on black holes and cosmology and more about imaginary time. The latter part of the book also includes mention of some difficulties and close calls he's had with ALS, and the last chapter is a few pages about all he's done in his life.

While most of this information can probably be found elsewhere, it is interesting reading about Stephen Hawking's life from Hawking himself. It was most interesting reading about his childhood, which I knew least about. I also thought it was interesting seeing pictures of Stephen Hawking and his family when he was younger. I am unsure if the pictures were previously released before, but I have never seen them before.

If you are expecting an incredily lengthy, detailed account of Stephen Hawking's life, this book is not for you. But if you are interested in knowing a bit more about Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest physicists of our time and who was able to accomplish a vast amount more than the average person while also suffering from ALS, then this book is for you. You get his own account of his childhood and what he thinks of his research and his life, and you get to see many interesting pictures of him from his early life which one rarely sees.

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