The Best Of Stephen Hawking Books On Black Holes, Multiverses, And More

Stephen Hawking, the legendary physicist, during the course of his career, wrote and co-authored a minimum of 15 books, as stated on his website. Hawking’s works are for both the physics community as well as for the general public and Stephen Hawking books are precious treasure that everyone want to read them. He is said to be the greatest mind of the humanity as the other scientists have proofed that he was born for science.

Here is a selection of Stephen Hawking books with those he wrote by himself and the ones that have the contribution of other authors.

The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time (1973)

The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time was published in 1973 by Cambridge University Press and is Hawking’s very first book. However, he was only a co-author as the book also had the contribution of George Ellis.

It is not something for the general public though. The book uses the theory of general relativity, developed by Albert Einstein to give an explanation on the way black holes are formed by massive stars as well as the way singularities exist in space-time.

A Brief History of Time (1988)

One of the most famous Stephen Hawking books is A Brief History of Time, released in 1988 by Bantam Press. This one is for non-professionals and it explains the basics of cosmology in a way more people can understand.

In this book, you can find out about how our universe came to be as well as its possible fate.

A Brief History of Time discusses the nature of time, gravity, the Big Bang, black holes, and a unifying theory that can tie all of them together.

Black Holes and Baby Universes (1993)

Black Holes and Baby Universes is another book published by Bantam Press. It was first released in 1993. The book features essays written by Hawking on various subjects, from his personal experience of living with the neurodegenerative disorder to science-heavy subjects like black holes. If you are interested in an insight into the author’s life, this one is worth reading, among Stephen Hawking books.

The Universe in a Nutshell (2001)

Another acclaimed Stephen Hawking books is The Universe in a Nutshell, published in 2001 by Bantam Books. In this book, readers may find an explanation of concepts like supersymmetry, supergravity, M-theory, quantum theory, and others for the nonscientists.

It also brings you the latest updates since what happened in A Brief History of Time.

On the Shoulders of Giants (2002)

On the Shoulders of Giants, released in 2002, is one of the books of Stephen Hawking, and published by Running Press Adult, features the works of Einstein, Newton, Kepler, Galileo, and Copernicus.

The book discusses seven classic papers on astronomy and physics as well as five of his own essays. The biographies of each of the physicists mentioned in the book are also included.

A similar book called The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of was released in 2011 but this one discusses essays on quantum physics.

A Briefer History of Time (2005)

This is a different book but under a similar name, A Briefer History of Time. It explains what is in A Brief History of Time in easier to understand terms as well as includes more information on the subject.

This is not one of Stephen Hawking books but has enough relation to him to be featured on this list.

God Created the Integers (2005)

The book God Created the Integers was released in 2005 by Running Press Adult. In this book, Hawking gives us a general idea of 2,500 years of the development of mathematics as well as the highlights in the life and work of the most important mathematicians, along with their works’ preproduction.

George's Secret Key to the Universe and Its Sequels (2007 – 2016)

This series is some of the books by Stephen Hawking, his daughter Lucy, with the help of Christophe Galfard. The series follows the adventures of Annie and George to learn more about black holes, space travel, and cosmology.

Some other books in the series are George and the Big Bang, George and the Blue Moon, George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt, and George and the Unbreakable Code. All of them are published by Simon & Schuster Books.

The Grand Design (2010)

The Grand Design was written by Hawking and Mlodinow and it discusses the nature of reality and the universe’s origins, with vivid illustrations. It talks about multiverses and the ways that possible realities and histories might exist.

The Grand Design also provides an evaluation of if the M-theory might be a grand theory explaining the way the universe works.

My Brief History (2013)

This is one of the Stephen Hawking books that focuses on his life and work, as well as how his growth in the science world. He also talked about the making of his famous book A Brief History of Time and the role that the diagnosis played in driving him to make his intellectual breakthroughs.