My brief history autobiography book review

by Jeff Foust
Monday, September 23, 2013

My Brief History
by Stephen Hawking
Random House, 2013
hardcover, 144 pp., illus.
ISBN 978-0-345-53528-3
US$22

Only a handful of scientists have achieved the near-universal fame and recognition usually reserved for those in entertainment, sports, and politics.

And, ironically, these people have become famous typically for reasons other than a deep appreciation by the public for their research. Albert Einstein became—and remains to this day, more than a half-century after his death—an icon thanks more to his appearance (that shock of gray hair!) and general reputation for intelligence than for any greater appreciation of his research beyond a vague notion of “relativity.” Carl Sagan became famous thanks to television, including the Cosmos series, without many knowing his legacy of studies of the solar system.

Stephen Hawking became famous perhaps in spite of his re