Stephen Hawking: A Biography

by Kristine M. Larsen

Overview

Few scientists are as recognizable as Stephen Hawking. Despite having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease)—an affliction that many experts expected to have killed him decades ago—Hawking remains a vital and influential voice in the scientific community. One of the leading cosmologists studying the celestial phenomenon known as black holes, Hawking has also led the way in popularizing science with his best-selling work A Brief History of Time. This biography of Hawking, written by a physicist, provides an accessible introduction to the life and work of an inspirational figure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313323928
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/2005
Series:	Greenwood Biographies
Pages:	190
Sales rank:	879,677
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Kristine Larsen is Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Central Connecticut State University.

Table of Contents

Destiny's Child: An Auspicious Birth and Eclectic Childhood
Scientist in Training: The Road to Oxford
Tragedy and Triumph: Dissertation and Deadly Disease
Children and Calculations: Family Man and Theoretician
"Stephen's Changed Everything": Black Holes Aren't Black
Caltech and Cambridge: Exploring New Horizons
Einstein's Legacy: Quantum Gravity
Physics or Metaphysics: The "No Boundary" Proposal
In a Different Voice: Computers to the Rescue
"The Best Selling Book No One Read": A Brief History of Time
Endings and Beginnings: Marriages Die, Universes are Born
To Boldly Go: Hollywood Calls
Brains, Branes, and Stringy Black Holes: Zeroing in on the Theory of Everything
Larger than Life: Scientist as Icon

Editorial Reviews

[T]he story of his life…. is told with sympathy, and skilfully interwoven with the developments in Hawking's pioneering theories in cosmology, black holes in particular, and the search for the theory of everything… [A]n intriguing work. Early in her book, the author says that Hawking does not like biographies, so would probably not read this one. Want a bet?” —Gnomon

“In an elegant, pristine universe black holes are decidedly messy. Apprentice physicists may try to sweep them under the cosmic carpet and hope no one notices the lump. The masters, like Hawking, relish the messy bits, the structure of space-time, the no-boundary concept, the baby universe. Larsen makes such messy bits, and Hawking's expertise in straightening them out, accessible to general readers and sets the concepts within the framework of Hawking's career and personal life. As a result, along with explanations of the theory of everything we learn why Hawking turbans up so much in the media as one of the greatest and certainly one of the most easily described physicists on the planet.” —SciTech Book News

“His devilishly complex cosmological theories are handled engagingly in accessible language for the lay reader. [T]his is a touching portrait that will grace any bookshelf.” —Astronomy Now

“[T]his is a well-written introduction to Hawking and his work that is worth having.” —SB&F

From the Publisher