A Brief History Of Time

　　霍金的《時間簡史》暢銷全球，為科學寫作樹立了里程碑。作者熱情投入是一項原因，主題引人入勝又是另一項原因，這些主題包括探討時間與空間的本質、上帝在宇宙創生的角色，以及宇宙的歷史與未來等。不過自從《時間簡史》出版後，不斷有讀者反應，書中有些重要的概念極難掌握。

　　這便是《新時間簡史》的緣起由來。霍金希望讓讀者更能親近本書，同時也納入了最新的科學進展與發現。雖然英文原文書名指稱本書「更簡短」，事實上卻是對原書主要課題的擴張闡述。作者將純粹技術性的概念剔除（如混沌邊界條件的數學），將大家很感興趣卻因為分散各篇章而覺得難以掌握的部分，以新的獨立章節探討，包括相對論、彎曲空間與量子理論等。

　　在重新整理組織下，作者擴大讀者特別關注的範疇，並介紹了弦論與完全統一理論等最新的研究進展。比起之前的版本，《新時間簡史》更能帶領科學門外漢翱遊寰宇，藉由最新的科學研究，直探最扣人心弦的時空奧祕。本書包含三十七張全彩插圖，讓《新時間簡史》更添精彩，在科學文學史上屹立不搖。

　　---中文簡介擷取自中譯本《新時間簡史》，大塊文化出版

　　Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author’s engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book’s most important concepts.

　　This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author’s wish to make its content accessible to readers - as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings.

　　Although this book is literally somewhat ’briefer’, it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own, including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory.

　　This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete, unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book-but even more so - A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.

　　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.

作者簡介

史蒂芬．霍金（Stephen Hawking）

　　一九四二年於伽利略逝世三百周年誕生，世人公認是愛因斯坦之後最傑出的理論物理學家。承襲牛頓擔任劍橋大學數學系盧卡斯講座教授長達三十餘年。其著作包括：《圖解時間簡史》（擴充修訂新版）、《胡桃裡的宇宙》、《新時間簡史》（《時間簡史》普及版），以及《大設計》等，並主編天文學經典《站在巨人肩上》五巨冊（其中包括哥白尼、伽利略、克卜勒、牛頓，以及愛因斯總計兩百餘萬字的原典以及霍金的導論）。以上霍金各書中文版均由大塊文化出版發行。霍金擁有十二個榮譽頭銜，還獲得許多獎項與勳章，他是英國皇家學會會員與美國國家科學院院士，他在進行理論物理學研究的同時，並沒有忽視家庭生活(他有三個子女和一個孫子)，此外他還計畫做廣泛的旅行，並為公眾作演講。

　　STEPHEN HAWKING held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years; his other books for the general reader include the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes and The Universe in a Nutshell.

雷納．曼羅迪諾（Leonard Mlodinow）

　　加州理工學院的物理學家，也是暢銷書作家，著有《醉漢走路──機率如何左右你我的命運和機會》（The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives）、《歐幾里得之窗──從平行線到超空間的幾何學故事》（Euclid’s Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace）、《費曼的彩虹：物理大師的最後24堂課》（Feynman’s Rainbow），並與霍金合著《新時間簡史》（《時間簡史》普及版）以及《大設計》。他也為第二代星艦奇航影集編劇，目前定居於南加帕薩迪娜巿。

　　Physicist LEONARD MLODINOW, his collaborator for this new edition, has taught at Cal Tech, written for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and is the author of Euclid’s Window and Feynman’s Rainbow and the co-author of the children’s book series The Kids of Einstein Elementary.