Brief Answers to the Big Questions (Illustrated Edition): A beautiful new edition of the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller featuring 200+ illustrations
By (Author) Stephen Hawking
John Murray Press
John Murray Publishers Ltd
25th November 2025
Illustrated edition
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Quantum physics (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory)
Hardback
280
Width 173mm, Height 246mm
The million-copy bestseller now illustrated with over 200 full-colour images, illuminating the fascinating science of our universe like never before.
'A beautiful little book by a brilliant mind' DAILY TELEGRAPH'Effortlessly instructive, absorbing, up to the minute and - where it matters - witty' GUARDIANThe world-famous cosmologist and #1 bestselling author of A Brief History of Time leaves us with his final thoughts on the universe's biggest questions in this brilliant posthumous work.Is there a GodHow did it all beginCan we predict the futureWhat is inside a black holeIs there other intelligent life in the universeWill artificial intelligence outsmart usHow do we shape the futureWill we survive on EarthShould we colonise spaceIs time travel possibleThroughout his extraordinary career, Stephen Hawking expanded our understanding of the universe and unravelled some of its greatest mysteries. But even as his theoretical work on black holes, imaginary time and multiple histories took his mind to the furthest reaches of space, Hawking always believed that science could also be used to fix the problems on our planet.And now, as we face potentially catastrophic changes here on Earth - from climate change to dwindling natural resources to the threat of artificial super-intelligence - Stephen Hawking turns his attention to the most urgent issues for humankind.Wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating, passionately argued, and infused with his characteristic humour, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, the final book from one of the greatest minds in history, is a personal view on the challenges we face as a human race, and where we, as a planet, are heading next.A percentage of all royalties will go to charity.A beautiful book from a brilliant mind * Daily Telegraph *
Almost everything in Brief Answers is effortlessly instructive, absorbing, up to the minute and - where it matters - witty * Guardian *
The best, most mind-bending sort of physics: black holes, time travel, the origins of the universe * The Times *
It is that ultra-distinctive voice (modest, profound, sometimes very funny) that knits this book together * Sunday Times *
STEPHEN HAWKING was a brilliant theoretical physicist and is generally considered to have been one of the world's greatest thinkers. He held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of C ambridge for thirty years and is the author of A Brief History of Time which was an international bestseller. His other books for the general reader include A Briefer History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design and Black Holes: The BBC Reith Lectures. He died on 14 March, 2018.