A lot of people will know Stephen Hawking as that wheelchair guy, less will know him for his compelling and ground breaking work within the field of black holes, and some may even be suprised to hear that despite having one of the most intelligent minds of not only any English scientist but any scientifically minded person throuout the world he remains a very down to earth guy who is funny and light hearted.

Thats what first attracted me to his brilliant "a brief history of time", one usually expects a certain stuffiness or arrogance to go hand in hand with genius, but Stephen has a great way of writing that makes you want to trust what he's saying, this is vital when complex concepts require the occasional leap of faith.

In a Brief History Stephen manages to convey infinitely complicated points in a fascinating and above all understandable way, which in itself must take an extraordinary amount of skill.

The Layman will feel right at home here, Stephen can take something that is on the limits of mortal understanding and explain them simply but effectively with a simple example from everyday life or an easily imaginable concept.

While the book does drag slightly a little towards the end this is a must have for anyone who is curious about the universe we live in, I would class myself as a Layman who is desperate to understand more, I really don't have a scientifically geared mind and yet I have an unquenchable passion to find out why and How the universe is the way it is.

To that end this should be the first port of call to any Layman, Stephen takes us by the hand and gently guides us through what could potentially be a frustrating and almost scary subject.

Reccomended for it's accesibility, difficult concepts are brought within reach and Stephen's sense of humour which is heartily injected into the book almost makes it akin to discussing the cosmos with an old friend.

Worryingly a lot of people don't seem to be very interested about the universe, When I tell people I'm an astronomer they usually react as if I've just told them I live on the starship enterprise. I do think it's important to remember that the universe and everything in it is real, and not just the subject of a fictional television programme (although I do love star trek, Blush), so if you have anything from a burning passion to a passing curiousity about topics such as black holes, extra dimensions, where the universe has come from and where it's heading then I whole heartedly reccomend A Brief History Of Time.