A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by dark-draco from Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 14, 2018
It seems kind of apt to register this book today - they've just announced that Stephen Hawking has died. He was 76 - a great age considering he was told he'd live for 2 years back in the 1960's.
I first read this back in 2015 - here's my review from then ....
Well, it's hard to review a book that you know from the start isn't going to be enjoyable as such - confusing, enlightening, informative, surprisingly funny and hard work in places, but not 'enjoyable'! I have to say that I found it very readable - the style and narration make some very complicated theories more accessible - maybe not completely understandable (I think more than one read is necessary for that), but at least the concepts behind such 'buzz words' as string theory, quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle, have begun to make a lot more sense, and that's coming from a biologist rather than a physicist! Definitely worth working your way through.
I first read this back in 2015 - here's my review from then ....
Well, it's hard to review a book that you know from the start isn't going to be enjoyable as such - confusing, enlightening, informative, surprisingly funny and hard work in places, but not 'enjoyable'! I have to say that I found it very readable - the style and narration make some very complicated theories more accessible - maybe not completely understandable (I think more than one read is necessary for that), but at least the concepts behind such 'buzz words' as string theory, quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle, have begun to make a lot more sense, and that's coming from a biologist rather than a physicist! Definitely worth working your way through.
Journal Entry 2 by dark-draco at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Friday, May 18, 2018
Released 5 yrs ago (5/18/2018 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Released as a Book Ray.
This isn't a book to read in a hurry - don't feel that you have to rush it on to the next person - take your time to work your way through the theories!
List of participants
1. greenbadger (UK) - post anywhere
2. freuju (Germany) - post anywhere
3. spatial (US) - post anywhere
4. Olivia_Lo (Taiwan) - post anywhere
This isn't a book to read in a hurry - don't feel that you have to rush it on to the next person - take your time to work your way through the theories!
List of participants
1. greenbadger (UK) - post anywhere
2. freuju (Germany) - post anywhere
3. spatial (US) - post anywhere
4. Olivia_Lo (Taiwan) - post anywhere
Thank you very much for this ray book.
Journal Entry 4 by greenbadger at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom on Thursday, June 28, 2018
Hawking's excellent book describes some of the basic theories of physics, such as the history of the universe, whether or how it might end, unified theory, black holes, string theory, etc., in such a way that the layperson can understand, using clear analogies which make it comprehensible and interesting. I'm amazed that someone who's so super-intelligent can manage to pitch things at this level - he must have been an exceptional teacher. I would recommend that everyone should read this.
Released 5 yrs ago (7/10/2018 UTC) at St Albans, Hertfordshire United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Sent to freuju who is next in the ring. Sorry about the delay in sending this on!
The book arrived here yesterday. Thank you! :)
Just received the book!
Thank you, freuju for the beautiful postcard!
And thank you to dark-draco for starting this Bookray!
Thank you, freuju for the beautiful postcard!
And thank you to dark-draco for starting this Bookray!
As previous journalers have mentioned, Hawking has a way of communicating to the layperson in such a way to make the material more accessible. As opposed to George Gamow's Gravity which, even though not too hard a read, was a little harder and a bit more of a dry read. Gravity was supposed to have been written for the layperson to easily understand the material but the book focused on the mathematics, making it actually harder to understand if you were not familiar with some basic concepts and such. Hawking's book, on the other hand, did not rely on the mathematics to make the information understood and he provided easy to understand examples throughout. In addition, Hawking would reiterate, where appropriate, concepts he already talked about to refresh the reader's mind. Both are fantastic reads and I highly recommend them both!
Journal Entry 9 by Spatial at Next Reader, Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, October 25, 2018
Released 5 yrs ago (10/24/2018 UTC) at Next Reader, Bookray -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Book is on its way to Taiwan!
Thank you for starting this bookray!
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The book has arrived. Thank you for sharing!
Unfortunately, I'm not bright enough in terms of physics to understand much of the content, so I decide to give up at around P.30. It will go to dutch-book to fulfill a wish.
Journal Entry 12 by dutch-book at Heerenveen , Fryslân (Friesland) Netherlands on Friday, February 15, 2019
Book arrived yesterday. Quick journey from Taiwan. Thanks for sending this. I look forward to it.