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    My Brief History
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    My Brief History
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    My Brief History
    Audiobook2 hours

    My Brief History

    Written by Stephen Hawking

    Narrated by Matthew Brenher

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Stephen Hawking has dazzled readers worldwide with a string of bestsellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, perhaps the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inward for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution.

    My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking's improbable journey, from his postwar London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. This concise, witty, and candid account introduces listeners to a Hawking rarely glimpsed in previous books: the inquisitive schoolboy whose classmates nicknamed him Einstein; the jokester who once placed a bet with a colleague over the existence of a particular black hole; and the young husband and father struggling to gain a foothold in the world of physics and cosmology.

    Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time-one of the iconic books of the twentieth century.

    Clear-eyed, intimate, and wise, My Brief History opens a window for the rest of us into Hawking's personal cosmos.

    Editor's Note

    In the news…

    Stephen Hawking’s contributions to science completely upended our understanding of the universe. Look back at his incredible and inspiring life with his memoir.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 10, 2013
    ISBN9780804164290
    Unavailable
    My Brief History
    Author

    Stephen Hawking

    Stephen Hawking was a brilliant theoretical physicist and is generally considered to have been one of the world’s greatest thinkers. He held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years and is the author of A Brief History of Time, which was an international bestseller. His other books for general readers include A Briefer History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design, and Black Holes: The BBC Reith Lectures, as well as the books in the George’s Secret Key series. He died in 2018.

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    Reviews for My Brief History

    3.5/5

    115 ratings20 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Certainly brief, and lurches from too much technical detail and too little personal detail.
    • 3/5
      The science is touched on so rapidly, that if you don't know much about it already there is nothing you can learn from this book. But the little details of life and the photographs are fun.Stephen Hawking is virtually a contemporary of Richard Dawkins. They probably were at Oxford at the same time, although at different colleges. Hawking also speaks of being younger than many of the other students, since they had done military service, and he had not.There were some little bits that were a surprise to me. For example, what really stopped him speaking at all was his tracheotomy. He nearly died over and over again in the 70s, but subsequently, he was at death's door much less frequently.
    • 5/5
      A quick and easy to read auto-biography of the famous theoratical physicist, Stephen Hawking. It gives cliffnotes version of the author's life without dwelling needlessly on any part, which can put-off some people who are interested in in-depth look at his personal life, but if you just want to know get general overview without any personal drama, it's a pretty good book.
    • 5/5
      Review #9 - My Brief History by Stephen Hawking (2013)To call Stephen Hawking a remarkable man would be an understatement. His 1988 "A Brief History of Time" made him a household name, alongside Newton and Einstein. It's still in print, having sold more than 10 million copies since.This 'Brief History' is a memoir by the author. We follow him on a journey detailing his life, growing up in postwar London, to his years at Oxford, his diagnosis of ALS at twenty-one and to his international acclaim. Biblio-facts about his masterpiece are also provided.At 144 pages, it's a wonderful short read and you'll find yourself wanting to keep on reading, though once finished you are left hungry for more. Here the 2015 movie "Theory of Everything" fits nicely on a quite evening with a glass of wine. First UK edition published by Bantam Press on 12 Sep. 2013. US edition 10 Sep. 2013. Illustrated with rarely seen photographs. - IRONJAW'S BOOK REVIEW, Review #9. April 20th 2015
    • 3/5
      I found "My Brief History" a quick, informative read; those who may desire insight into Hawking's materialistic worldview will find it useful.Hawking's focus on cosmology was a natural consequence of his interest in understanding how systems work, and an underlying desire to control systems.An interesting anecdote is that of a tutor who tasked Hawking and a companion with reading a chapter a day in the Bible and writing a piece on it. Being told that the Bible had changed since the time of King James, Hawking argued it was questionable the Bible should be read. Despite this fallacious argument, Hawking set about in later life to explain an ever-changing universe. Following this, rather than the reader being left to an inference or assumption of arrogance in Hawking, we have his own admission of incomplete knowledge, which is refreshing to find in the scientific community.Hawking makes, perhaps unwittingly, an interesting admission in his chapter titled "The Big Bang." In the 1960's, he says, the big question was whether or not the universe had a beginning. He admits that to many scientists a point of creation would necessitate an appeal to religion and to the hand of God. This runs counter to a materialistic worldview, and so other alternatives can be the only possibility. This admission is of an anti-scientific bent.Perhaps Hawking will one day offer a complete, coherent, and consistent theory on the origin of the universe, but for now his work in theoretical physics apparently still hasn't given him what he is looking for.
    • 4/5
      I've read a few other non-fiction books where scientists talked not just about their research, but about themselves and their world. Stephen Hawking's was just as enjoyable as the others, although he certainly used the fewest words to do so. He's matter-of-fact about his accomplishments and weaknesses, and has a very dry sense of humor that had me laughing a number of times. Although he's clearly mimicking the title of his famous A Brief History of Time, this little book is quite brief, and he doesn't spend too much time talking about any one subject.
    • 3/5
      Not the intimate biography that I was expecting. Some of the scientific references go completely over my head. I will need to read or listen to one of his other books dedicated to explaining his theories for clarification. It was a short overview of his journey to present day. It's lack of intimacy rendered it more like a guest speaker at a business conference sharing their career path.Biographies, for me, are a reaching out to make a connection with the subject, as well as, getting a glimpse into their life, how they think and approach day to day life. I like a biography that somehow stays with me and adds to or changes my life somehow, giving me a perspective or insights I hadn't considered prior. This did not deliver. But these are my personal requirements. A fan of Hawking's work would most probably get much more out of the book since they might understand the many discussions regarding theoretical physics.
    • 3/5
      I think this is the most impersonal autobiography I've ever read. After reading the autobiography of Hawking's first wife last year, I was eager to read this to try to form a balanced view of Hawking and his life. The only new information that I learned about him was the birthplaces of his parents, and that he liked toy trains as a child. The book is, indeed, very brief, and well over half of it is physics. There is no glimpse at all of his personality and emotions, and major life events are glossed over with no details or depth.
    • 1/5
      Disappointed. It feels like Stephen Hawking didn't really want to write about his life. He drifts again and again into science which went way over my head. I was hoping to learn more about the human Stephen Hawkins.
    • 3/5
      Well, when he titled it My Brief History, Stephen Hawking wasn't kidding. It was very brief. It's difficult to review because I felt like it only skimmed the surface of his life. It started with his childhood and made its way up to the present and all of his scientific and personal victories in between. The illustrations were the icing on the cake (I'm a sucker for family photographs by the way) and lent a personal touch to an otherwise very straightforward autobiography. Hawking's writings are witty and self-deprecating and this was no different. However, I would have preferred that it wasn't written a little more personally. At times, it felt like he would get caught up in science excitement only to remember that he was supposed to be writing about himself. (Not that I don't like science excitement, guys.) I liked it but it didn't hold a candle to A Brief History in Time (which is currently residing on my desk at work 3/4 finished) in my opinion.
    • 3/5
      Very disappointing autobiography, lacking in needed revelatory self-evaluation and introspection. It reads like a listing of high points of his life, but lacks the emotional appeal readers of memoirs and autobiographies crave. The "History" is indeed brief, and sadly mostly unnecessary since there is nothing between the covers that is not available in various public resources.One wonders why Hawking produced it since he reveals nothing that would allow readers to understand and appreciate him as either man, mind, or cosmologist beyond the way they already do. Hawking has been a personal hero of mine for half my life and I had hopes that he would view this subject with as much delight and puckishness that he observes the universe. Perhaps I am expecting too much; considering his other contributions, I should not ask him to make an additional one to the art of autobiography.Net Galley provided my copy for early review.
    • 4/5
      Stephen Hawking is known throughout the world for his work A Brief History of Time, one of the most iconic books of the twentieth century, and his intellectual prowess that has helped redefine and reshape our understanding of the world around us. In this book, My Brief History, Stephen tells us his story: from his postwar London childhood, to his diagnosis with ALS at twenty one, to becoming the scientist we know today.Although this is a relatively short book, one that can be read in one sitting, Stephen writes with humility, humor, and clear words that help us understand his life, his work, and the world around him. The book is illustrated with a variety of photographs and humorous anecdotes about growing up. If you're at all interested in Stephen Hawking or just like a good biography I highly recommend this book as one to read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.ARC provided by NetGalley
    • 3/5
      Indeed, a very, very brief personal history, perhaps a third of the 144 pages of this short volume. Most of the information could be gleaned from public sources, although there are a few personal observations thrown in. The balance of the book is a series of essays on the science behind Hawking's work over the years. Hawking is obviously extremely private, and readers won't find out much about his feelings on his illness, family, or scientific squabbles, although he's obviously very proud of his work. The photos are a nice addition, and Hawking is quick to mention his collaborators, many of whom are pictured with him. All-in-all, I'm glad I read it, but it left me wanting much more, even if it has to be written by a biographer.
    • 4/5
      For me one of the most appealing aspects of this book is its brevity. And that is not intended as any sort of dig at Hawking. Really, I want to learn a bit about him, but I don't want the messy details of anyone else's romantic life (and they are all messy). This is a bit about his parents, his childhood, his education (college was important to him), his marriages. his kids, his career, a bit about working around his disability. I don't feel like I know him, but I feel I've gotten a pretty good introduction.



      I like his sense of humor, which is dry and understated. I like that he makes bets about cosmology with his peers, that those bets have clearly defined pay-offs, that he remembers those bets, and who won them, and that they were properly paid. I like that he says nothing but good things about his family. I like that he included family pictures of the various homes he lived in, and that meeting the Queen was a big deal, and was getting to experience gravity-free flight. I really like that he remembered that he had a eureka moment getting ready for bed. And that he pursued theoretical physics because he wasn't that good at maths and experiments were too much work.



      Really, a good memoir. The perfect mix of self-deprecating and delight at how well his life turned out.



      Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      This short book hit the highlights of Stephen Hawking's life so far. It was informative and enjoyable. I was looking to know more about him and that is what the book delivered in his words and with his attitude. There were a few places where his theories were presented and I couldn't grasp them, but it was good to hear what the theories were. These are a big part of who he is, but as the book shows, this is not all there is to the man.
    • 3/5
      A nice brief autobiography of the man most of us know as an esteemed physicist with ALS that has done so much with his life in spite of his great obstacles. Steven Hawking has a simple and easy way of communicating complex ideas and this book is much the same. Maybe a bit brief on his personal feelings about his life condition and his family but still a worthwhile read.
    • 5/5
      Informal story
    • 4/5
      Dieses kleine autobiographische Buch vermittelt eine Idee vom Leben Stephen Hawkings. Unter anderem erfährt man, dass die Schreib-Geschwindigkeit des Autors bei etwa drei Wörtern pro Minuten liegt. Es überrascht daher nicht, dass er sich nicht in ausschweifenden Beschreibungen ergeht. Die Kindheit wird schnell abgehandelt und der Schwerpunkt liegt auf den zentralen Stationen seines wissenschaftlichen Lebens. Es ist ein interessantes und lesenswertes Büchlein.
    • 3/5
      Some lives of scientists are incredibly interesting. Newton’s personal life is the source of endless debate and fascination, and there are whole cults devoted to the life of Richard Feynman. (Even Hawking recounts some amusing anecdotes told by Feynman.) So I had high expectations for hearing about the life of Stephen Hawking. This memoir, however, struck me as uneven in quality. Some of it had too much detail given to the most quotidian events. For example, Hawking names every friend he ever played with as a child, and provides a detailed history of his early toys. He talks a bit about his personal experience with having what has been diagnosed as ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (called motor neurone disease in the U.K.). He doesn’t address however the differences between the type of ALS that most people with the disease have, which gives them approximately 2 or 3 years to live, and his own slow-progressing form, estimated to be characteristic of fewer than 1% of those who develop ALS. He does tell us though a little about the effect it has had on his marriages and on his work.Then there are the scientific parts.... I actually stuck with him through black hole thermodynamics, but when he went on to discuss cosmic strings, quantum gravity, negative energy, and imaginary time, well, I was - let’s just say not able to grasp his meaning very well. He does try though, and his explanations are much simpler than his writing for scientific audiences. But most of it was lost on me.Discussion: Hawking has a pleasant, self-deprecating sense of humor, but in terms of writing memoirs, he is not Richard Feynman. As mentioned above, he doesn’t seem to have a good sense of what to include and what not to include. Moreover, in spite of having written books presumably for lay audiences, I did not think he did a good job at all at making his scientific theories understandable. Yes, it could be that I am just incredibly dense, and I don’t deny that for a moment, but aren’t I a typical member of the intended audience? On the one hand, it is probably not possible for a scientist to feel comfortable compressing theories enough so that the gist of them can be gotten by almost anyone, because inaccuracies are inevitable that way. But I think that could be handled with a disclaimer. My final complaint is with an odd feature about the audio narration. Since 1985 Hawking has had to speak through his trademark computer system which he operates with his cheek. Most people know this, or can find this out in the course of the biography. He provides interesting background on how the system works. But I don’t get why the audio producers chose to begin every chapter with the reading being done first by Hawking’s computer-generated voice, and then with the narrator, Matthew Brenher, slowly taking over as Hawking’s voice fades out. I found it totally distracting. If this had been done with one chapter at the beginning, it would have been sufficient to acquaint us with what his computerized voice sounds like.
    • 4/5
      Stephen Hawking: the man and the human being. It is extremely difficult to see Stephen Hawking as a person with love, fear and loneliness as things he possibly suffers through. In his autobiography we learn about Stephen’s life leading up to his grand successes and beyond. As a child he loved trains, was curious how machines worked, and was not skilled with his hands when rebuilding the machines he dissected.

      Professor Hawking is revered for his “genius” in the theoretical physics realm and heavily involved in cosmology. He is the Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. His most prized work explains how matter is emitted from black holes as radiation, and was a forerunner in the research into space temperature. He does not believe that time tourists are among us, unless they are microscopic: reasoning is described in detail within the biography.

      Hawking’s autobiography is terse which probably is the reason for the short book. There is little unnecessary information and contains the bare bones of Stephen’s life up to present time. He describes his marriages with factual information (before this book I didn’t realize Stephen had been married, let alone TWICE) and expressed pride in his three children. This is without doubt the most human I have ever seen Hawking, making him less of an immortal, overarching being and someone who struggled through his diagnosis with Lu Gehrig’s aka ALS, and still continues to struggle with the disease. He fills us on where he started, how he got to where he is, and the people who helped him get there. Hawking even remembers to accredit his students for their physical and theoretical aid while Stephen developed his career.

      I am deeply impressed with this memoir, where it lacked warmth and was overly concise, it also developed a better picture of a man who has a sense of humour (entertaining bets with fellow scientists including a subscription of Penthouse), and a survivor. This is a man who has quietly suffered while doing great things for theoretical physics without much desire for fame or fortune. It is most fortunate that Hawking has used ALS to spur him on to develop countless theories, and is someone who can write his own life with such humility while making such a huge impact on the world.