'Is the universe going to expand into eternity or will everything collapse in one Big Crunch in which physical laws become meaningless? Stephen Hawking, author of the phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time, sheds light on the darkest
of space and time and considers an extraordinary array
The Times

Readers worldwide have come to know the work of Stephen Hawking through his phenomenal bestseller, A Brief History of Time. Now, in his first collection of essays and other pieces - on subjects that range from the warmly personal to the wholly
scientific - Stephen Hawking is revealed variously as the scientist, the man, the concerned world citizen, and - as always - the rigorous and imaginative thinker. Whether he is remembering his first experience of nursery school; puncturing the arrogance, of those who think science can best be understood only by other scientists and should be left to them; exploring the origins and the future of
the universe; or reflecting on the phenomenon of A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking's wit, directness of style and absence of pomp are vital characteristics at all times.

'Stephen Hawking has done it again. In A Brief History of Time he succeeded in interesting the widest possible audiences in the most abstract of theoretical astrophysics. Now he has once more broken out of the scientific ghetto to claim the intellectual and cultural high ground for science... Black Holes and Baby
Universes takes us still further, almost over the limit... Turn to Stephen Hawking if you would look outward, to the ends of the universe'
Independent on Sunday