A Brief History of Time

A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a book on cosmology by the physicist Stephen Hawking, first published in 1988.

Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the universe. He talks about basic concepts like space and time, building blocks that make up the universe (such as quarks) and the fundamental forces that govern it (such as gravity). He discusses two theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics that form the foundation of modern physics. Finally, he talks about the search for a unified theory that consistently describes everything in the universe.

The book became a bestseller and has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages. It was included on Time's list of the 100 best nonfiction books since the magazine's founding. Errol Morris made a documentary, A Brief History of Time (1991) which combines material from Hawking's book with interviews featuring Hawking, his colleagues, and his family.

An illustrated version was published in 1996. In 2006, Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow published an abridged version, A Briefer History of Time.