A Brief History of Time

Why I'd hand it to you

Stephen Hawking wrote this for ordinary readers, explaining the Big Bang, black holes, the nature of time and the search for a single theory of physics with almost no math. He is curious and often witty, and the big questions are genuinely exciting. My honest note: plenty of people start this and stall in the middle chapters on particles and forces. It takes effort, and some of the science has moved on since it first came out in 1988. Go slowly and don't worry if you don't catch every idea. For anyone who wonders about the universe, it is worth the stretch.

— Matt Jordan