A Briefer History of Time (Schulman book)
 Cover of A Briefer History of Time | |
| Author | Eric Schulman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | History of the universe |
| Genre | |
| Published | May 1999 (W. H. Freeman and Company) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (trade paperback) |
| Pages | 171 |
| ISBN | 0-7167-3389-7 |
| LC Class | QB982 .S38 1999 |
A Briefer History of Time is a science humor book by the American astronomer Eric Schulman. In this book, Schulman presents humorous summaries of what he claims are the fifty-three most important events since the beginning of time.[1][2][3] The title and cover are a parody of Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time. Coincidentally, Hawking would later write a "sequel" entitled A Briefer History of Time. Hawking's publisher Bantam Books was aware the title had already been used in a popular science book, but went ahead since "The other book was published six years ago, and Professor Hawking is an international figure." [4][5]
In 2004 the author released the book under a creative commons license, CC BY-NC-ND 1.0,[6] as free download on his website.
Description
[edit]Laughing while learning is the intent of Schulman's book. The book shows why, even though the Universe is expanding, it doesn't get any easier to find a parking space. Furthermore, there is the pulp version of the origin of life ("It was a dark and stormy night. In the shallow tide pool, a nucleic acid base collided with a sugar molecule. An amino acid sank beneath the murky depths . . . .").
References
[edit]- ^ Publishers Weekly, Volume 244, Issue 32 (August 10, 1998).
- ^ Science News, Volume 155, Number 22 (May 29, 1999).
- ^ Mercury Magazine, Volume 29, Number 2 (March/April 2000).
- ^ Hill, Paul. Times Higher Education Supplement (May 27, 2005).
- ^ Walden, Celia. The Daily Telegraph (May 31, 2005).
- ^ A Briefer History of Time "CC BY-ND-NC 1.0" (archived 2004)
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