The Universe explained...for dummies. I have read this book like four times.

This book is more than a coffee table decoration. Tough read yes, but very interesting. Give it a try.

it was not particularly educating to me. The topics were either too trivial or I didn't know about them and still don't.

For a famous book this one sure does go deep. You learn about concepts as mind blowing as imaginary time in this little book yet so many people want to read it. And for those geeks out there wondering what on earth imaginary time is, think complex numbers married with time.
Yeah, it's out there, yet this is a bored at the airport type book. So they say.
I would argue that if you're bored at the airport, you will get a few chapters into this and be more bored. Not because it's badly written but because it gets heavy. If you can get through it then you're probably not the sort of person to be bored at an airport.
All that being said, I am a geek, I did understand what he was trying to say and quiet enjoyed this read. I now have several other Hawkings books including "On the shoulders of Giants".
This book basically contains some of his ground breaking theories (such as complex time) distilled down for normal people to try and understand.
If for no other reason, read it for the mental challange. 

Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time is very thought-provoking, written such that the average person can understand the most challenging fundamental problems faced by scientists throughout recorded history.

I think this book is a fantastic way to learn more about Physics and mathematics! I am so amazed by this book! It talks about singularities, how mass warps space and tells a bit about soe famous scientists! It taught me about all sorts of wonderous and interesting facts!

This is what got me into physics

LibraryThing Review

I got the version with no pictures in it, so I can't understand some concepts mentioned in the book. May reread later when I become (more) interested in physics or astronomy. It's one of the books I just picked randomly, even though my significant other mentioned it at least once. Leer comentario completo

LibraryThing Review

Ha, what can you say about this book? I liked it a lot, the concepts are extremely difficult to grasp at times but we are talking about theories that are being worked on by some of the most ... Leer comentario completo

LibraryThing Review

(Original Review, 1987) Will having read Hawking's book help me understand the way a horse-fly "grasps" the arrow of time? For starters, I'm great at killing horse-flies by hand. Should I get some ... Leer comentario completo