# A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

6 Hacker News commenters recommended A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a clear, approachable introduction to cosmology that sparked careers. Critics call it weaker than other books on the topic.

## Why people recommend it

- Sparked interest in science and careers (3 comments): "It was great reading and played a significant role in my choice of research as a career." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48786927)) "was one of my favorite books as a pre-teen beginning to wonder how the world works" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46264092)) "But it created a spark which laid the groundwork for my entire career." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785902))
- Clear, approachable and readable writing (2 comments): "the book is pretty approachable, like were Sagan's books and so on" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48786843)) "it is a very clear and readable book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785975))
- Enjoyable, great read (2 comments): "It was great reading and played a significant role in my choice of research as a career." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48786927)) "A Brief History of Time is an awesome read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49378502))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-escher-bach.md): 47 recommend
- [Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-fast-and-slow.md): 17 recommend
- [Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-in-systems.md): 17 recommend
- [The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins](https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene.md): 14 recommend
- [Cosmos by Carl Sagan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cosmos.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553109537?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780553109535) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking", https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-brief-history-of-time/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).