Stephen William Hawking (a name that everyone knows) was born on 8th January 1942. He was not only an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist but a great author too. He was the one who explained world’s most complicated theories, mysteries and questions in such an easy way that even a child could understand.
He solved the questions about the blackholes, how does time work, quantum theories and all the other mind-bending questions which a science enthusiast or any other person might ask. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease but he still pushed the boundaries to solve the mysteries of science. He was a genius and gained the respect of the world. He wrote many incredible books which were mostly about the universe. He died on 14th march 2018 at Cambridge, United Kingdom but he left his brilliant work behind in his books and theories. He always will be remembered for the help he provided to the humankind so that they can look beyond the earth and figure out the mysteries.
So here is a list of his top ten amazing books for not only physics enthusiasts but for everyone who is intrigued by the universe:
- God created the integers
Stephen Hawking mentioned all his mathematical work history starting from Euclid to Alan Turing. It focused on math than on science. “God created the integers” is similar to the book on “The shoulders of giant”. It happens to be one of the most significant books of Hawking’s career.
2. On the shoulders of Giants
This book was published in 2002, by the running press. It is a metaphor, meaning using the understanding gained by major thinkers who have gone far in order to make intellectual progress. Isaac newton once said “I’ve seen further, it is by standing on shoulders of giants”. Hawkins was inspired by newton and was even appointed to his old position at Cambridge as ‘Lucasian chair of mathematics’. In this book he has put together and continued the work of Galileo, Einstein, Copernicus as well as newton. This book states their works and tells us about their discoveries which gave a turning point to science.
3. George’s secret key to the universe
Hawking not only inspired adults but children too. He wrote many books for children in a language they could easily grasp. This book was published in 2007 and he wrote this book together with his daughter Lucy Hawking and Christophe Galfard. This book is fiction based that tells a story about a young boy George and his adventures of finding the mysteries of the universe. The book was loved by children as well as the adults.
4. My brief history
It was a biopic of Hawking which won an Oscar in 2014. People were keen to know about Hawking’s personal life and it provided the information. Readers were interested to know how was Stephen’s childhood and how he got interested in science. It also mentions about the problems he faced growing up and his struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease also known as ALS.
5. Black hole and baby universes
This incredible book was published in 1993 and was preceded by the book a brief history of time. Most of Hawking’s work was about black holes. As the name suggests, this book is full of information about black holes that how they are made and their features. It also has some personal work. So if you are avid to know about the black holes, this might just be the right choice.
6. The grand design
This book was published on September 7, 2010 by the publisher Bantam Books. Stephen wrote this book along with Leonard Mlodinow in which they examined the universe and the scientific knowledge about it. They also explained the elven dimensional M- theory. Some of the questions which they have solved are – Why are we here? When and how did the universe begin? What is nature’s reality? Or is there any other explanation for science?
7. A brief history of time
This book was his greatest works of all time which bought him an incredible fame among the science community as well as others. This book answers most of the questions which a person interested in space and time often asks. Questions such as how everything started? Can time be reversed? Is the universe never ending or does it have boundaries? It almost covers all the theories of Einstein to Newton and to all the greatest theories about the space and time. It has all the secrets which were unknown to us in the history such as the big bang theory and the development of human kind to black holes , milkyways and galaxies. This book is a gem given to us by one and only Stephen Hawking.
8. the universe in a nutshell
Who isn’t intrigued by the depths of the universe? The more we read about it, the more we want to know! This book just serves the purpose. It was published in 2001 and includes Hawking’s work on theoretical physics. It tells us briefly about popular opinions of the physical laws and of course the quantum theory for which physics enthusiasts go gaga about. It also deals with imaginary time, past superstring theory and takes us to the world of M-theory. It basically tells the physics behind the universe.
9. George’s cosmic treasure hunt
After the great success of “George’s secret key to the universe”, Hawking wrote another part. It was published on 19th may 2009 and just like its prequel, it was too loved by children. Lucy hawking co-authored this book too. In the book, George and Annie, middle school cosmologists, return to solve an incredible question and undertake another great adventure. Hawking had a flair of explaining concepts and it shows in his books.
10. George and the big bang
Another book that was co-authored by Lucy Hawking along with Stephen hawking and was published on August 2011. It is the third part of the George series. George series were loved not only by children but adults too. This book tells us about George’s adventures and how he discovers the world of cosmos. After the success of the first three parts, another book was added to the series which was “George and the unbreakable code”, to feed the curiosity of children.
William Henry Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian. He is best known as the principal founder of Microsoft Corporation.
