Science

Book Review: A Life in Science by John Gribbin and Michael White

This biography portrays the man and his science superbly

Book Review: A Life in Science by John Gribbin and Michael White

John Gribbin made his name with ‘In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat’, an essential read for any aspiring Physics student. Before this, however, he collaborated with Michael White to produce this early biography of Stephen Hawking. The book covers his formative years and the reputation he built as a cosmologist.

Whilst focusing mainly on Hawking’s career as a physicist, the authors also manage to convincingly portray his family life as well as the media frenzy that surrounded (and in fact still does surround) the fact that he suffers from Motor-neurone syndrome.

It is often felt that the authors detached themselves from the emotional aspect of Hawking’s illness. However, this actually serves to make the book a more convincing science biography. Hawking himself always seeks to downplay his illness so it is fitting that the authors do not make it the main focus of the book. Hawking is a remarkable character with a sense of humour to match. This biography portrays the man and his science superbly.

From Issue 1478

14th Jan 2011

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Read more

An interview with the Imperial student hunger striking for Palestine

News

An interview with the Imperial student hunger striking for Palestine

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  On Tuesday 10th June, Imperial Action for Palestine, and Imperial Friends of Palestine, two of the groups protesting the actions of Israel in Gaza, posted an announcement that a student had begun a hunger strike following a meeting with Imperial’s

By Mohammad Majlisi
New data on Imperial professors’ salaries reveals gender and faculty differences

News

New data on Imperial professors’ salaries reveals gender and faculty differences

A recent Freedom of Information request has revealed the highest professorial salaries endowed by Imperial are mostly attributed to males and Business School professors. Beyond the outsized numbers of male professors, gender discrepancies in earnings stood out. While the salary distribution for professors of both genders is comparable for pay

By Guillaume Felix