The Universe in a Nutshell (Stephen Hawking)
A well illustrated Hawking sequel, best for fans of the first book who accept some repetition.
The short version
- Readers who finished A Brief History of Time and want more
- Visual learners who like heavily illustrated science books
- Teens and adults curious about string theory and time travel
- You want established, tested science rather than leading edge theory
- You already know A Brief History of Time well and want mostly new material
- You want physics developments from the last two decades
What owners like
- Clear and accessible writing that never talks down to readers, with flashes of humor
- Copious, imaginative illustrations that make abstract ideas such as imaginary time easier to grasp
- The black hole sections are especially well explained
- Improves on the earlier book's treatment of time travel
Common complaints
- Heavy overlap with A Brief History of Time, sometimes reusing the same examples
- Much of the content is speculative theory without observational support
- A few weak spots, such as how the cosmology chapter explains galaxies moving apart
- Still aims high, so some ideas take more than one read
Based on The Penguin Random House listing and its quoted press reviews, Chris Impey's review in Physics Today, the Wikipedia article on the book and a long form reader review on kara.reviews..
Research scores
Scored from the maker's specs and what owners report. Drew's own notes and photos will refine these.
Ownership
- Sep 2015
First bought.
Drew's hands-on notes for this product are on the way. Long-term updates will be added to this timeline.
What it does
Stephen Hawking's 2001 illustrated follow up to A Brief History of Time, covering relativity, black holes, M theory, time travel and the search for a theory of everything.
- Explains general relativity, quantum theory, black holes, superstrings, p-branes and M theory for general readers
- Hawking's aim of combining Einstein's relativity with Feynman's idea of multiple histories into one theory
- Takes a fuller look at whether general relativity could allow time travel
- Chapters are less strictly sequential than A Brief History of Time, so readers can skip around
- Winner of the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age award, per its publisher
A good second Hawking book for readers who enjoyed A Brief History of Time and want the newer, more speculative ideas, helped along by full color illustrations throughout. The trade-offs are that it repeats a fair amount of the earlier book and leans on theories, such as M theory and extra dimensions, that still lack observational support.
How it compares
Specs
- Author
- Stephen Hawking
- Publisher
- Bantam
- Published
- November 6, 2001
- Format
- Hardcover (audiobook also sold)
- Pages
- 224
- ISBN
- 9780553802023
- Illustrations
- Four color throughout
Questions
Is The Universe in a Nutshell a sequel to A Brief History of Time?
Yes. It was written to update readers on developments since the 1988 book, and covers some of the same ground.
Should I read A Brief History of Time first?
It helps. This book builds on the earlier one, though its chapters can be read somewhat out of order.
Is The Universe in a Nutshell hard to read?
It avoids math and relies on illustrations, but topics like extra dimensions and imaginary time still take effort.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. Penguin Random House sells an audiobook narrated by Simon Prebble, about three and a half hours long.
Sources
- Penguin Random House: The Universe in a Nutshell
- Physics Today: The Universe in a Nutshell (review)
- Wikipedia: The Universe in a Nutshell
- kara.reviews: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell
Researched 2026-10-02. We bought this product; our page is built from the maker's details and what owners report across reviews and forums. We never copy Amazon customer reviews.