This is a brilliant book for our time. Great answers to great questions. Essential reading to imagine what we can do on this planet in these times. Wonderful.

Although 270.4 deg. C is 518.72 deg. F, -270.4 deg. C is NOT -518.72 deg. F. That temperature does not exist! Instead, -270.4 deg. C is -454.72 deg. F. I'm sure Dr. Hawking knew better, so I think it was someone else who made this egregious error, probably because they were too rushed to publish the book. I still give the book 5 stars.

An important book

This book collects the scientific thoughts and evidence-based conclusions from one of the most rational and gifted minds in the recorded history of human kind. Although the book maintains the same super engaging and impressive narrative of previous books by Dr. Hawking, this ones converges specifically on his science-based conclusions about the “big questions”. He again makes his thoughts appear intuitive and simple, yet they come from the one of the most objective, impartial, rational and brilliant scientific minds the human race has ever produced.

I bought this book because I admire Stephen Hawking and wanted to learn more about science. He asks questions in this book that I haven't thought of like what is in a black hole. There is no definitive answer to this question, but I did learn that a black hole is a collapsed star that does have gravitational power to suck in a human being. I learned that a black hole does trap in light and emit a lot of heat and radiation. Hawking supported living in space, and he supports his belief by telling readers there are ice caps in the craters on the moon and volcanic activity on the planet Mars. This may be old news to most people, but this is new information for me. It gives hope that people will eventually live in space and build colonies there. I really like the chapter where Hawking questions whether or not God exists. He did not believe in God, but he does asks readers what question they would ask God if they believe in his existence. This is a question that got me thinking about what I would ask. There are written tributes in this book by his daughter Lucy, actor Eddie Redmayne that all show how revered Stephen Hawking is. I admire the optimism he had and enjoy this book very much.