Author Description

Biography Stephen Hawking's ability to make science understandable and compelling to a lay audience was established with the publication of his first book, A Brief History of Time, which has sold nearly 10 million copies in 40 languages. Hawking has authored or participated in the creation of numerous other popular science books, including The Universe in a Nutshell, A Briefer History of Time, On the Shoulders of Giants, The Illustrated On the Shoulders of Giants, and George's Secret Key to the Universe. Ever since quantum physics shook up the scientific world with its revolutionary explanation of matter and energy and its bizarre philosophical implications, there have been dozens of first-rate histories describing the brilliant intellects who populated its development and the groundbreaking impact that the paradigm had on diverse fields. Yet there have been very few expert compilations gathering together the original papers, accompanied by commentaries explaining their content for the layman. Stephen Hawking's volume fills this gap. The collection has been judiciously put together by a scientist who is an acknowledged expert in his domain. It includes most of the initial groundbreaking papers in the discipline by scientists like Planck, Einstein, Rutherford, Bohr, Born, Heisenberg, Pauli, Dirac, Schrodinger and others. The progression of the papers nicely reflects the historical development of quantum theory. In addition the commentary on the papers clearly describes their impact and carries Hawking's characteristic hallmarks of succinctness and clarity. Naturally only an expert theoretical physicist would be able to understand the details of every paper, but even someone with a general scientific bent will be able to appreciate the remarkable logic of the intellectual development of the discipline.