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An Unfettered Mind
by Kitty Ferguson
Stephen Hawking has been an iconic figure in physics for the last half a century, making many groundbreaking discoveries on the nature of the universe. Yet while his mind roams to the farthest corners of reality, his body has become increasingly trapped by the advance of Lou Gehrig's disease, which has bound him to a wheelchair, without speech or movement except for a few facial muscles. Told in his youth that he would not live past his 20s, Hawking will turn 70 in 2012, and today he continues to inspire millions, drawing rock-concert-sized crowds wherever he lectures. Science writer Kitty Ferguson has been working with Stephen Hawking for decades, and produced an internationally bestselling biography of his life in 1992. Now, she brings his life as well as his scientific discoveries up-to-date. This is a remarkable look at how one of the greatest scientific minds alive overcame the odds to become the truly inspirational figure he is today.
"Starred Review. Ferguson captures the very full life and work of one of the most vibrant minds of our time." - Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating portrait of a complex figure who ponders the place of man and God in the universe and who still loves the 'Eureka moment of discovering something that no one knew before.'" - Kirkus Reviews
"[A] Stephen Hawking biography that highlights the epochs of an illustrious career - and the personality behind them." - Nature (International Journal of Science)
This information about Stephen Hawking was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kitty Ferguson has been working with Stephen Hawking for over a decade and has witnessed firsthand his incredible intelligence and the difficulty he faces in day-to-day life as a result of Lou Gehrig's disease. While working with Hawking she gained his respect for her ability to translate complex scientific ideas into language a general reader can understand, and worked with him to ensure The Universe in a Nutshell was accessible to general readers. The author of ten books herself, including The Fire in the Equations, Prisons of Light, Measuring the Universe, Tycho & Kepler, and The Music of Pythagoras, Ferguson has been interviewed by Forbes, PBS, and BBC. She lectures widely, including at Syracuse University, Goddard Space Science Center, the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and Rutgers, and writes the column "Big Questions On-line" for the Templeton Foundation. Ferguson and her husband split their time between Bluffton, SC and Cambridge, England. Visit her online at www.kitty-ferguson.com.
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