Stephen Hawking: A life in Science
I've just finished "Stephen Hawking: A life in Science" yesterday, after much delay due to my lack of reading time recently. The book is quite a good one, but not exactly what I would call the most exciting biography that I've read (not that I've read many), but it seems that a lot of what is written, is on what the author though of Stephen Hawking, which is not strange for a biography I guess.
For those who are not familar with the name Hawking has been celebrated as one of the most brilliant minds on present day, with people comparing him to the airs of Galelio, Newton and Einstine. The books trys to paint a picture of Hawking, though I can't be so sure how accurate this picture of him is, it's quite a fascinating one. I was rather annoyed when I started reading the books as in some (quite long) parts of the books which I though the authors spent a little bit too much time explaining the theories that Stephen was working on, rather than his life (which was what I had brought the book for, if I wanted to read about his works I would have read Hawking's popular science books "A Brief History of Time", or "The Universe In a Nutshell", some of which I've aready read). However, I did find some significance in their explination later on as to tell the reader how significant Hawking's works was.
What was good about his life story is that the reader is presented with a very real character, one who may be celebrated by many, and yet dispised by others due to his actions weather intentionally or not. It also tries to tell how a man has been changed, due to his circumstances, ie., from brillant child, to discovering his disease, to recognized genius to international icon. Though I don't know them to be accurate, well is there such a thing as an accurate view any way? Maybe there are just different perspectives, as to how people view him, so at least I've read one. An interesting read I'd say, more than just a book praising his intellectual brillance. We are all human after all, and no human is free from fault.
For those who are not familar with the name Hawking has been celebrated as one of the most brilliant minds on present day, with people comparing him to the airs of Galelio, Newton and Einstine. The books trys to paint a picture of Hawking, though I can't be so sure how accurate this picture of him is, it's quite a fascinating one. I was rather annoyed when I started reading the books as in some (quite long) parts of the books which I though the authors spent a little bit too much time explaining the theories that Stephen was working on, rather than his life (which was what I had brought the book for, if I wanted to read about his works I would have read Hawking's popular science books "A Brief History of Time", or "The Universe In a Nutshell", some of which I've aready read). However, I did find some significance in their explination later on as to tell the reader how significant Hawking's works was.
What was good about his life story is that the reader is presented with a very real character, one who may be celebrated by many, and yet dispised by others due to his actions weather intentionally or not. It also tries to tell how a man has been changed, due to his circumstances, ie., from brillant child, to discovering his disease, to recognized genius to international icon. Though I don't know them to be accurate, well is there such a thing as an accurate view any way? Maybe there are just different perspectives, as to how people view him, so at least I've read one. An interesting read I'd say, more than just a book praising his intellectual brillance. We are all human after all, and no human is free from fault.
posted by A_Neutron_Astray @ 5:22 PM
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