Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking

A Memoir of Friendship and Physics

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

An icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius: not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a place in our popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and colleague, offering an intimate account of this giant of science.

The two met in 2003, after Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him. As they spent years working on A Briefer History of Time followed by The Grand Design, they forged a deep connection and Leonard gained a greater understanding of Stephen's daily life and struggles -- as well as his compassion and humour. Together they obsessed over the perfect sentence, debated the physics, and occasionally punted on Cambridge's waterways with champagne and strawberries. In time, Leonard was able to finish Stephen's jokes, chide his sporadic mischief, and learn how the hardships of his illness helped forge that unique perspective on the universe.

By weaving together their shared story with a clear-sighted portrayal of Hawking's scientific achievements, Mlodinow creates a beautiful portrait of Stephen Hawking as a brilliant, impish and generous man whose life was not only exceptional but also genuinely inspiring.

© Leonard Mlodinow 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

  • A very fine book indeed. Mlodinow is himself a physicist of some distinction, but he is also a very skilled writer. Writing of the stubbornness that enabled Hawking to pursue theoretical physics despite his motor neurone disease, he says, "It allowed his spirit to dance in the prison of his limp body." The great merit of this book is to convey so vividly the dance, the spirit and the prison
    Ray Monk, New Statesman Books of the Year

About the author

Leonard Mlodinow

Leonard Mlodinow is the best selling author of The Drunkard's Walk, Subliminal and Elastic. He co-authored two books with Stephen Hawking and later wrote an acclaimed memoir, Stephen Hawking, about their time together. He has written for television, including multiple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as helping Steven Spielberg and Robin Williams make a video game. There are now over one million copies of Leonard Mlodinow's books in print.
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