“It is said that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, and nowhere is that more true than in the case of black holes. Black holes are stranger than anything dreamed up by science fiction writers.”

In 2016 Professor Stephen Hawking delivered the BBC Reith Lectures on a subject that fascinated him for decades – black holes.

In these flagship lectures the legendary physicist argued that if we could only understand black holes and how they challenge the very nature of space and time, we could unlock the secrets of the universe.

Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries?

These are just some of the questions considered in the internationally acclaimed masterpiece by the world renowned physicist - generally considered to have been one of the world's greatest thinkers.

It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders.

This new edition includes updates from Stephen Hawking with his latest thoughts about the No Boundary Proposal and offers new information about dark energy, the information paradox, eternal inflation, the microwave background radiation observations, and the discovery of gravitational waves.

It was published in tandem with the app, Stephen Hawking's Pocket Universe.

'This book marries a child's wonder to a genius's intellect. We journey into Hawking's universe while marvelling at his mind.' The Sunday Times

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'A beautiful little book by a brilliant mind' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Effortlessly instructive, absorbing, up to the minute and - where it matters - witty' GUARDIAN

The 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 God?

How did it all begin?

Can we predict the future?

What is inside a black hole?

Is there other intelligent life in the universe?

Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?

How do we shape the future?

Will we survive on Earth?

Should we colonise space?

Is time travel possible?

Throughout 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.

George's pet pig breaks through the fence into the garden next door - introducing him to his new neighbours: the scientist, Eric, his daughter, Annie, and a super-intelligent computer called Cosmos.

And from that moment George's life will never be the same again, for Cosmos can open a portal to any point in outer space . . .

Written by science educator Lucy Hawking and her father - the most famous scientist in the world - and illustrated by Garry Parsons, George's Secret Key to the Universe will take you on a rollercoaster ride through space to discover the mysteries of our universe.

'We are going,' said Annie, 'on a great cosmic journey. So listen up, Savers of Planet Earth, and prepare to meet the Universe.'

George's best friend Annie needs help. Her scientist father, Eric, is working on a space project - and it's all going wrong. A robot has landed on Mars, but is behaving very oddly. And now Annie has discovered something wierd on her dad's super-computer.

Is it a message from an alien? Could there be life out there? How do you find a planet in outer space? And if you could talk to aliens, what would you say?

Like prior editions of the book - but even more so - A Briefer History of Time will guide non-scientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space . . .

This is Stephen Hawking's somewhat 'briefer' account of his up-to-date and most recent scientific observations and findings. A great companion to his original worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time.

From curved space to quantum theory, the authors have expanded on areas of special interest and recent progress, such as developments in string theory and exciting progress in the search for a force of complete, unified theory of all the forces of physics.

Thirty-eight full-colour illustrations enhance the text and make A Briefer History of Time an exhilarating addition in its own right to the literature of science.

'His clarity, wit and determination are evident, his understand and good humour moving' New Scientist

My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking’s improbable journey, from his post-war London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. Lavishly illustrated with rarely seen photographs, this concise, witty and candid account introduces readers to a Hawking rarely glimpsed in previous books: the inquisitive schoolboy whose classmates nicknamed him ‘Einstein’; the jokester who once placed a bet with a colleague over the existence of a black hole; and the young husband and father struggling to gain a foothold in the world of academia.

Writing with characteristic humility and humour, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease aged twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onwards through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time – one of the iconic books of the twentieth century.

Clear-eyed, intimate and wise, My Brief History opens a window for the rest of us into Hawking’s personal cosmos.

'Read it for the personal nuggets . . . but above all, it's worth reading for its message of hope' Mail on Sunday

When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Is the apparent 'grand design' of our universe evidence for a benevolent creator who set things in motion? Or does science offer another explanation?

In The Grand Design, the most recent scientific thinking about the mysteries of the universe is presented in language marked by both brilliance and simplicity. Model dependent realism, the multiverse, the top-down theory of cosmology, and the unified M-theory - all are revealed here.

This is the first major work in nearly a decade by one of the world's greatest thinkers. A succinct, startling and lavishly illustrated guide to discoveries that are altering our understanding and threatening some of our most cherished belief systems, The Grand Design is a book that will inform - and provoke - like no other.