A Brief History of Time



Philip Glass is sometimes wrongly credited with composing the soundtrack for the 2014 biopic of physicist Stephen Hawking The Theory of Everything. This is because the theatrical trailer for the movie used the track Runaway Horses from his score for another movie, Mishima, whereas Jóhann Jóhannsson actually composed the soundtrack. But Philip Glass did provide the soundtrack for the earlier Hawking documentary A Brief History of Time.

I was reminded of Philip Glass' soundtrack when reading Graham Farmelo's newly published biography Hawking: His Life and Work. When reading non-fiction books, one of the first things I do is to turn to the 'Acknowledgements'; because this puts the provenance of the book and therefore the possible agenda of the author into context. So I was somewhat concerned to read that Farmelo's biography was commissioned by Stephen Hawking's Estate.

Fortunately my concerns were almost unfounded. This new and meticulously-researched biography portrays Hawking warts and all. Stephen Hawking was undoubtedly a genius, but like his musical hero Richard Wagner - Hawking attended two Bayreuth Rings - and indeed like all of us, he also had a dark side. 

It is only in the last two chapters, and particularly in the Epilogue that Graham Farmelo's admirable biography approaches the fuzzy dividing-line between biography and hagiography. For me the concluding chapters read as though Farmelo had been asked not to let any warts spoil the farewell party.  Hawking: His Life and Work is a compelling and highly recommended read about a very great and important mind. But I have to admit to being surprised that after being engrossed in more than 400 pages, I found myself speed reading the Epilogue. 

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