A new biography of Stephen Hawking argues that the British astrophysicist and cosmologist deserves a fuller portrait than the legend that grew up around him, one that includes his shortcomings as well as his achievements. The book, Hawking: His Life and Work, is written by the physics historian Graham Farmelo and is discussed in the latest episode of the Physics World Stories podcast, alongside the science writer Philip Ball, who reviewed the book for the Guardian.
Farmelo wrote the biography with the backing of the Hawking family. He conducted exclusive interviews with Hawking's relatives, friends and closest colleagues, and was granted access to a collection of previously unseen diaries and letters kept by Hawking's parents. The podcast presents the book as an attempt to move beyond the public image of Hawking as a near-mythic figure and to look at the man behind the work.
Both guests have written about physics before. Farmelo's earlier book, The Strangest Man: the Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius, was named Physics World book of the year in 2009. Ball has recently completed a biography of the Nobel-prize-winning Danish physicist Niels Bohr. In the podcast, host Andrew Glester puts challenging questions to both of them about how Hawking's reputation was built and sustained.
Among the issues raised is that Hawking could be sparing with scientific credit for his peers, and that he was willing to pronounce on all kinds of subjects with questionable depth. According to the discussion, the media and the scientific community largely embraced these pronouncements, and Hawking came to be treated as a revered figure. The guests ask why flaws that would be pointed out in almost any other scientist of his stature were so widely overlooked.
Both guests stress that the book is not a takedown. They agree that Hawking was extraordinary and remains an inspiration through both his science and his life. Their argument is that a more complete account, with imperfections included, serves readers better than a polished icon, and that understanding the full person can make the story of his work more truthful.
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