Briefer History Of Time, A

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Inthe 17 years since the publication of A Brief History of Time, Dr.Hawking's bestselling exposition of physics, new data from particlephysics and observational astronomy have shed light on efforts tofind a Grand Unified Theory of Everything that Hawking and Mlodinowuse to enhance and update their answers to basic questions aboutthe universe: where it's going and how it began. Discussed atlength are the mysterious dark matter and dark energy-both of whichcan only be observed by their gravitational effects and arebelieved to make up 90 percent of the universe. Another area ofresearch that has exploded in the past 20 years is string theory.Hawking and Mlodinow provide one of the most lucid discussions ofthis complex topic ever written for a general audience. Readerswill come away with an excellent understanding of the apparentcontradictions and conundrums at the forefront of contemporaryphysics. Recognizing that much of their audience will also bescience fiction buffs, they include a chapter on the possibility oftime travel. "Don't bet on it," the authors advise. Throughoutthese discussions, the authors maintain the same wry, lively tonethat made the original Brief History such a delight. They closewith a discussion of where physics ends and philosophy begins, "Whydoes the universe exist at all?" They cannot provide the answer,but they do provide an immense amount of food for thought. Highlyrecommended.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of ReedElsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From Scientific AmericanHawking's A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was asurprise best-seller but a tough read for most people who tackledit. Hawking received many requests for a version that would makehis discussion of deep questions about the universe moreaccessible. This book does that. Hawking and Mlodinow, a physicistturned science writer, proceed by small and careful steps from theearly history of astronomy to today's efforts to construct a grandunified theory of the universe.