Further Reading & External Resources

This site aims to be a comprehensive guide, but serious readers will want to go to the primary and authoritative sources directly. Here are the most trustworthy places to learn more about Stephen Hawking and his work.

His own work

The best starting point is always Hawking in his own words: his books, and for the technically inclined, his scientific papers. His doctoral thesis, Properties of Expanding Universes, is freely available through the University of Cambridge's open-access repository, the release of which famously crashed the university's servers.

Archives and institutions

The University of Cambridge holds his scientific archive, and the Science Museum in London holds the contents of his office, including one of his wheelchairs and his speech equipment; both are noted on the page about where to see Hawking. The Royal Society, of which he was a Fellow from 1974, holds biographical material, and his connection to Gonville and Caius College is part of the historic fabric of Cambridge.

Lectures and talks

For Hawking speaking directly, his BBC Reith Lectures and his TED talk are among the most accessible, rounded up on our page of notable speeches and lectures. These remain available through the BBC and TED archives.

Biographies

For the life, the most useful books are gathered on our page of books and films about Hawking, including Kitty Ferguson's authorised biography and Jane Hawking's memoir Travelling to Infinity.

Trustworthy science explainers

For the physics beyond this site, reputable popular-science sources, university physics departments, and established science publications are the safest guides. We would gently caution against unsourced social media explainers, which are a frequent source of the myths and misconceptions that surround him.

How we use sources

For how this site itself selects and weighs its sources, see our sources and method.