Hawking: The Man, The Genius, and the Theory of Everything

Andre Deutsch RRP $ 30

DURING HIS LIFE, Stephen Hawking was many things: a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, bestselling author and, by general consent, the most significant scientist since Isaac Newton.

And now he’s a coffee-table book. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

On both personal and professional levels there was so much complexity to Hawking’s life that trying to examine it in anything less than, say, seven hefty volumes would seem like a very risky task.

Here Joel Levy, an accomplished science journalist, chooses to take a short and snappy, episodic approach to his subject’s life and career. This signals a certain lightness of touch – although not, it must be said, a frivolous or wilfully shallow one – that turns the limitations of the “gift book” form into an advantage.

In lavishly illustrated, easily digested segments, Levy tackles Hawking’s private life – his childhood, student years, relationships, and academic successes.

Other sections look at his disease diagnosis and progression, the technology behind his voice encoder, and his gradual transition from brilliant scholar to celebrity scientist to national treasure.

As well as such biographical details, however, Levy makes sure his readers know full well why Hawking was, and remains, so influential.

In clear, unfussy language he explains all the key concepts in the scientist’s life, from M-theory to model-dependent realism to top-down cosmology. Short and sweet, these entries alone are worth the price of admission.

Hawking is a delightful book, because of its content and its structure. It would make a most acceptable gift for anyone with an interest in physics or fame, from high school students to hobbyists.

Or, of course, for oneself.