Hawking

Gr 10 Up–As a young man, Stephen Hawking was interested in the sciences, but choosing a specialty proved difficult. He grew bored easily, so he dabbled in various areas of study before finding his calling in theoretical physics and cosmology. Hawking also learned as he came into adulthood that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease that would leave his mind untouched as it slowly wreaked havoc on his body. Not one to give in to obstacles, he relied on the help of his wives, students, and colleagues to persevere in his studies and make complicated scientific concepts accessible. Hawking narrates this account, covering his entire life but focusing on the 1960s through the 1980s. The conversational, generally linear narrative starts out simply enough but quickly becomes a catalogue of Hawking’s many famous contemporaries and the leading theories of the day, which influenced, and were influenced by, Hawking’s own work. His personal life is covered as well but is secondary to his achievements. Loose, scratchy linework and bold, high-saturation colors reflect Hawking’s bold ways of thinking about the universe. An author’s note indicates that though the book is nonfiction, some details were changed to improve the flow of the story.