Scan barcode
jwinchell's review against another edition
4.0
The science here was way over my head, but I liked trying to follow. The immensity of how Hawking worked and thought was impressive to bear witness to. I liked learning about his life and his decline physically. What an amazing human.
teachinsci's review against another edition
5.0
This graphic novel biography of Stephen Hawking did not limit itself to his life. It also spent time covering the history of his science and some of the development of the cosmological theories which he developed in his lifetime. The skill of the author us in the graphic novel as such a powerful medium for a biography is unsurprising considering that he has written several others explaining such things as the history of space flight, women in primatology, and (I recently found out and want to buy) Feynman.
The main character was, of course Stephen Hawking, and the author and illustrator did a superb job of showing his physical decline while not making it (except of a few pages) a central figure in the book. The other major character was Hawking's first wife Jane and I found myself wondering at the amount of access that the author must have had. Jane was portrayed as truly in love and devoted to a man who was often distracted and nearly dismissive of her. Such is the skill of the graphic narrative that you can feel the the relationship descend into problems before ultimately ending in divorce without it being explicitly stated.
To me, the book does an excellent job of portraying a life of an icon with idolization, of presenting difficult science understandably (as Hawking eventually was able to do himself), and of telling the story of an important physicist in a way that is approachable by people from early high school on up. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about Stephen Hawking than his brief stints on the Simpsons and Big Bang Theory.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher (through NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. #netgalley #Hawking
The main character was, of course Stephen Hawking, and the author and illustrator did a superb job of showing his physical decline while not making it (except of a few pages) a central figure in the book. The other major character was Hawking's first wife Jane and I found myself wondering at the amount of access that the author must have had. Jane was portrayed as truly in love and devoted to a man who was often distracted and nearly dismissive of her. Such is the skill of the graphic narrative that you can feel the the relationship descend into problems before ultimately ending in divorce without it being explicitly stated.
To me, the book does an excellent job of portraying a life of an icon with idolization, of presenting difficult science understandably (as Hawking eventually was able to do himself), and of telling the story of an important physicist in a way that is approachable by people from early high school on up. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about Stephen Hawking than his brief stints on the Simpsons and Big Bang Theory.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher (through NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. #netgalley #Hawking
rkiladitis's review against another edition
4.0
If your science and biography sections don't have an Ottaviani/Myrick section yet, you may want to get to work on that. This is the second collaboration the two have worked on; the first being Feynman, a graphic biography on physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman.
Hawking is in parts biography and science comic for teens and adults, moving easily back and forth between Stephen Hawking's life story and explanations of physics, black holes, and the universe at large. The story begins with Hawking's birth, 300 days to the day after Galileo's death, wanders through his early adolescence as a teen who speaks "Hawkingese" and appears socially awkward; his marriage to Jane Hawking and his diagnosis with motor neurone disease, also known as ALS; his research and ultimate pop culture fame, and his later years, second marriage, and the degenerative path of his disease. First and foremost, this is a story about science; there are pages devoted to discussions between defining voices, including Newton, Faraday, and Einstein, about cosmology, light, and gravity. Jim Ottaviani captures Hawking's voice - the graphic novel is narrated by a fictional Hawking - and shows up a glimpse of the man behind the legend. Award-winning illustrator Leland Myrick's artwork is unfussy, providing scientific sketches as easily as he captures Stephen Hawking's wry smirk and his ability to disappear into a cloud of physics, even in a crowded room. The end of Hawking's story will catch readers right in the feelings - I choked up a bit. An author's note discusses how graphic novels are a good medium for narrative nonfiction, and I couldn't agree more. Jim Ottaviani is an New York Times-bestselling author whose graphic biographies also include The Imitation Game (Alan Turing) and Primates (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas), so the man knows how to plot out a graphic biography. There is a nice list of references that will give interested readers even more material to look through.
I love graphic novel bios - they're a great way to get tweens, teens, and adults interested in reading biographies, and the graphic medium allows for great explanations of topics that may be difficult in solid print (like physics!). If you have readers who have aged up from Science Comics, hand them Hawking. A definite must-add to your (growing!) graphic novel biographies.
Hawking is in parts biography and science comic for teens and adults, moving easily back and forth between Stephen Hawking's life story and explanations of physics, black holes, and the universe at large. The story begins with Hawking's birth, 300 days to the day after Galileo's death, wanders through his early adolescence as a teen who speaks "Hawkingese" and appears socially awkward; his marriage to Jane Hawking and his diagnosis with motor neurone disease, also known as ALS; his research and ultimate pop culture fame, and his later years, second marriage, and the degenerative path of his disease. First and foremost, this is a story about science; there are pages devoted to discussions between defining voices, including Newton, Faraday, and Einstein, about cosmology, light, and gravity. Jim Ottaviani captures Hawking's voice - the graphic novel is narrated by a fictional Hawking - and shows up a glimpse of the man behind the legend. Award-winning illustrator Leland Myrick's artwork is unfussy, providing scientific sketches as easily as he captures Stephen Hawking's wry smirk and his ability to disappear into a cloud of physics, even in a crowded room. The end of Hawking's story will catch readers right in the feelings - I choked up a bit. An author's note discusses how graphic novels are a good medium for narrative nonfiction, and I couldn't agree more. Jim Ottaviani is an New York Times-bestselling author whose graphic biographies also include The Imitation Game (Alan Turing) and Primates (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas), so the man knows how to plot out a graphic biography. There is a nice list of references that will give interested readers even more material to look through.
I love graphic novel bios - they're a great way to get tweens, teens, and adults interested in reading biographies, and the graphic medium allows for great explanations of topics that may be difficult in solid print (like physics!). If you have readers who have aged up from Science Comics, hand them Hawking. A definite must-add to your (growing!) graphic novel biographies.
jkenna1990's review against another edition
2.0
This book was interesting. I think that's the best thing I can say about it. The first half was absolute gibberish (unless you study physics) with little bits of Hawking's life sprinkled in. The second half of the book is much better. There was less math/science and more about the actual man behind all of it. I realize this book is not for me but there were other reasons for this rating. I found multiple spelling errors throughout the book that were rather distracting. If you are a science buff then this book will be great for you. If you are looking for a book on Hawking's life then look elsewhere. That being said I did enjoy the book once I got past the mathematics and science that confused the hell out of me.
kristi_starr35's review against another edition
5.0
Whether known via an image of a wheelchair-bound and synth-talking icon, on screen as a pop culture phenomenon, or as one of the greatest scientific minds of in history, people know Stephen Hawking. This authorized biographical graphic novel reviews not only Hawking's life but also his theories (though thankfully no equations).
The illustrations and text meld well and present a full view of Stephen Hawking - his life, his work, his shortcomings and struggles, and his successes and impact. It's dense at times and can ask a lot of the reader, but the format makes it much more manageable - and pleasant. Hawking was a great man, and this book presents him in an accessible manner. This is another winner from Ottaviani and Myrick.
The illustrations and text meld well and present a full view of Stephen Hawking - his life, his work, his shortcomings and struggles, and his successes and impact. It's dense at times and can ask a lot of the reader, but the format makes it much more manageable - and pleasant. Hawking was a great man, and this book presents him in an accessible manner. This is another winner from Ottaviani and Myrick.
kleinkid7's review against another edition
4.0
I'm in a book club with a couple of friends from college. We all live in different states, so we meet online. Our club started in the summer of 2014 and has met nearly every month since then.
It was this book, a biographical GN about Stephen Hawking, which spawned what is almost certainly the raunchiest book club discussion we have had in our nearly 9 year history.
It was this book, a biographical GN about Stephen Hawking, which spawned what is almost certainly the raunchiest book club discussion we have had in our nearly 9 year history.