HAWKING, STEPHEN

First US edition, first issue of the epochal popular survey of quantum physics, Hawking’s first book for non-specialists.

• Stephen W. Hawking (English).
• New York: Bantam Books, (1988).
• x, 198 pages.
• In original unclipped ($18.95) light blue pictorial dust jacket with photographic portrait of Hawking by David Montgomery.
• Bound in original quarter black cloth, black paper boards, blind-stamped author initials on front board, silver-lettered spine, blue endpapers.

“As interesting as the book’s wide-ranging contents is the glimpse it provides into the workings of its author’s mind. In this book are lucid revelations on the frontiers of physics, astronomy, cosmology, and courage.” – Carl Sagan, introduction. 

Lacking the table of contents and the dedication on the copyright page, this first issue was suppressed at the request of Hawking; the corrected second issue also had a slightly re-designed dust jacket and a different ISBN number. One of the great modern works of popular science, this is a lovely copy.