Hachette India to release Hawking's final book 'Brief Answers to the Big Questions'

Known for his work on Black Holes, the late Stephen Hawking's final book "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" will be released by Hachette India in October, the publishing house said on Thursday.

"The Stephen Hawking Estate announced that rights to a final book by the world famous theoretical physicist were sold to Nick Davies at John Murray (Hachette) for the Britain and the commonwealth including India; and to Bantam for North America," said a statement by Hachette India

According to the publishing house, the new book was in discussion at the time of Hawking's death, and his Estate decided to go forward with the project, which is a selection of his most profound, accessible, and timely reflections from his personal archive.

 

The book will be organised into four parts: 'Why Are We Here?', 'Will We Survive?', 'Will Technology Save Us or Destroy Us?', 'How Can We Thrive?'.

It will cover his discoveries and perspectives on everything from the creation of the universe, black holes, alien intelligence, and the existence of God to the importance of space colonization, and the perils and promise of artificial intelligence.

"We are delighted that we will be publishing Hawking's last work in India, particularly in the year of our two big anniversaries - our 10th year and (British publisher) John Murray's 250th year. A Brief History of Time is one of the most read books of all time in India and Brief Answers to the Big Questions will undoubtedly be the book of the year… and probably next year too," said Hachette India Managing Director Thomas Abraham.

Hawking was the author of the classic book 'A Brief History of Time', which has sold over 13 million copies worldwide and shot back to the top of bestseller lists after his death, and many other books.

Hawking was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

At the age of 20 he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) When he died in March, at the age of 76, he was the longest living MND survivor. His battle with the disease was featured in the film The Theory of Everything.

--IANS

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