Unlocking the Universe: Stephen Hawking and Lucy Hawking (book review)

Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet’ – Stephen Hawking

Book: Unlocking the Universe
Authors: Stephen Hawking and Lucy Hawking
Publishers: Penguin Random House
Genre: Science / Non-Fiction

The book starts with this beautiful quotation by Prof. Stephen Hawking, who revolutionized the world with his theory of black holes. He stated that black holes are not entirely black.
This book “Unlocking the Universe” is another magnum opus in the domain of science books. The book indeed covers the entire journey of the universe since its birth. If you are a science graduate, chances are you might already know everything written in this book. But the book, I guess, is not written for science graduates. The complex scientific concepts are presented in a very lucid way that even a kid can understand. Surprisingly, the authors explained complex concepts like relativity, string theory, and time-travel without using mathematical equations. The book is a collection of essays by scientists, researchers, and professionals; not only science but also the future of our society is also discussed at the end of the book. In short, it follows the perfect chronological order of life on earth.

The book is divided into seven parts:

Part One: In the beginning: In the part, the authors discussed how the universe was created and how life was formed

Part Two: What on earth: discusses the geography of earth and other related topics

Part Three: Exploring the Universe: This part is most interesting as the authors talk about the solar system and outer space. To give readers an idea of the vastness of space and the size of celestial objects. Their dimensions have been represented in units of earth. E.g. the volume of venus is 0.866 times the earth’s volume.

Part Four: Dark Matters: Talks about singularity, dark-matter and blackholes

Part Five: Life in Space: Authors put forward a roadmap for the colonization of space and how it would be like to live in space.

Part Six: Time Travel: This is the most exciting part of the book as it discussed the concepts of time-travel

Part Seven: To the Future: It is the last of the book, and the authors talk about the future of life on earth (including climatic change) and various Industry 4.0 technologies (though the word is Industry 4.0 not explicitly used but the concepts of AI, driverless cars, 3D printing) are discussed.

It is a must-read for young minds and people who missed the high school physics class. Perhaps, you can gift this book to your grandpa too. It is a science book for those who do not love science.

Rating: 5/5