Perspective

Stephen Hawking may be the most famous living scientist next to, perhaps, Richard Dawkins. Hawking is widely known not only as the genius physics professor in the wheelchair and that talks through a computer-generated voice program. He is also famous for his popular science writing, in particular, A Brief History of Time. Hawking is well-known within the physics community for his contribution to black hole theory and for helping to lay the groundwork for a theory of quantum gravity.

As someone so intelligent, theoretical and bound to the world of ideas of necessity, Hawking is surprisingly down to earth in the book. While he understands physics at an unparalleled level, he has a passion for communicating its ideas to the public. He also has wit and charm, often using puns and poking fun at himself. Hawking is rarely political and seems to have no particular ax to grind...