Starlight Book Review – Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time

Cover of A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking centered on a light blue background with Starry Night Elf avatar in lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1980s

Published 1988

4.20/5 I wanted something different for my 1980s entry for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Then, I realized I had yet to read nonfiction for this particular SRC. That helped me narrow down my selection to Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.

“Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help non-scientists understand fundamental questions of physics and our existence: where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how?… Hawking attempts to deal with these questions (and where we might look for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists’ search for a grand unifying theory… This is deep science; the concepts are so vast (or so tiny) that they cause mental vertigo while reading, and one can’t help but marvel at Hawking’s ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking for as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of “the mind of God”.
(From Hawking “dot” org “dot” uk)… A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was a landmark volume in science writing and in world-wide acclaim and popularity, with more than 9 million copies in print globally. The original edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the ensuing years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic world—observations that have confirmed many of Hawking’s theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book. Now a decade later, this edition updates the chapters throughout to document those advances, and also includes an entirely new chapter on Wormholes and Time Travel and a new introduction. It makes vividly clear why A Brief History of Time has transformed our view of the universe. (Refers to later editions)”

As a person who usually prefers reading more about history and art, I approached A Brief History of Time with trepidation. Yet, I found A Brief History of Time a simple but not condescending take on astronomy. Hawking’s sharp, humorous tone throughout the work made the knowledge he shared attainable. As an armchair historian, I appreciated most the parts that served as biographies of various scientists. I admit, though, some of the more mathematical and scientific passages seemed drier to me. Regardless, I preferred reading A Brief History of Time to various other science books required in my “science for nonmajors” courses in undergrad.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Anja Røyne’s The Elements We Live By…

Cover of The Elements We Live By… by Anja Røyne | Image Source: Goodreads

3.6/5 In the pursuance of my self-imposed goal of diversifying my non-fiction reads, I spotted Anja Røyne’s The Elements We Live By: How Iron Helps Us Breathe, Potassium Lets Us See, and Other Surprising Superpowers of the Periodic Table at the end of a bookshelf at my local library. The striking cover – multicolored handprint on the stark black background – immediately mesmerized me. So, I promptly requested a digital copy with plans to eventually add The Elements We Live By… to my Starlight Book Review (SBR) Shelf.

“An around-the-world journey to discover where in the wild we can find the elements of life and the surprising ways they’re essential to our survival… We all know that we depend on elements for survival—from the oxygen in the air we breathe to the carbon that forms part of the structure of all living things. But how many of us appreciate the ways our bodies also depend on phosphorous, say, to hold our DNA together, or potassium to power our optic nerves so that we can see?… In The Human Elements, physicist and award-winning author Anja Røyne takes us on an astonishing journey through chemistry and physics, introducing the building blocks from which we humans—and the world—are made. Not only does Røyne explain why our bodies need iron, phosphorus, silicon, potassium, and many more elements in just the right amounts in order to function properly; she also takes us on a tour around the world to where these precious elements are found (some of them in ever-shrinking quantities)… Røyne makes us understand how precarious the balance that keeps us and our environment alive really is, how there are finite amounts of our life-giving elements available to us, and how, from the smallest to the grandest scale, the world and everything that lives in it are wonderfully interconnected. The Human Elements will make you look at the world and your place in it in an entirely new way.”

At first, I liked how Røyne started The Elements We Live By… As someone who leans hard into the liberal arts, I always initially hold those who try to break down something scientific down into laymen’s terms. With the thesis statement I detected from Røyne’s title, I looked forward to reading more of The Elements We Live By… After I finished reading it, though, I agreed with a number of reviewers that The Elements We Live By… detoured from the thesis into a sounding out about diminishing energy sources. Also, the tone seemed a tad superior at times. Maybe I lost something in the translation I read… Those negatives about the book aside, I appreciate some of my takeaways such as learning more about Roșia Montană in Romania.

Update – The original Norwegian title translates to Human elements – the building blocks we and the world are made of

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Sy Montgomery’s The Hummingbirds’ Gift… (The Hummingbirds’ Gift #1)

Cover of Julius Caesar: Dictator for Life (A Wicked History) by Denise Rinaldo | Image Source: Goodreads

4/5 Gnomies, not only do I aim to broaden my reading horizons through various Stellar Reading Challenges (SRC), I also attempt to read books on “newer to me genres/subjects.” I realized it had been a good while since I last read a nonfiction work focused on Zoological Science. Over the years, I previously read works by naturalist Sy Montgomery. When I saw a slim book by her The Hummingbirds’ Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings, I knew I wanted to read as soon as possible. While not specifically for an SRC, I felt this book would indeed broaden my horizons.

“Hummingbirds fascinate people around the world. The lightest birds in the sky, hummingbirds are capable of incredible feats, such as flying backwards, diving at speeds of sixty-one MPH, and beating their wings more than sixty times a second. Miraculous creatures, they are also incredibly vulnerable when they first emerge from their eggs. That’s where Brenda Sherburn comes in… With tenderness and patience, she rescues abandoned hummingbirds and nurses them back to health until they can fly away and live in the wild. In The Hummingbird’s Gift, the care that Brenda provides her peanut-sized patients is revealed and, in the process, shows us just how truly amazing hummingbirds are.”

I recall seeing grown hummingbirds on a family road trip through Arkansas as a girl and marveling at these small, delicate creatures. By the way, my grandma possessed a great fondness for the ephemeral hummingbird. Perhaps I honestly came by my own admiration for these tiny birds. So, when Sy talks of Brenda taking care of even smaller hummingbirds, I’m in complete awe. I found the efforts taken on by Brenda, Sy, and others for the hummingbirds to be valiant. And let me exclaim this once — “Twenty minutes!”

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.