The BBC Radio 4 organizes the "Reith Lectures" every year, inviting a scientist to speak about their field of science and research. The Lectures are recorded in front of an audience that includes leading scientists from the Royal Institution of London. The listeners of Radio 4 submit numerous questions to the station regarding the topic of the lecture, and at the end of the lecture, a selection of these questions is posed "in person" by the respective audience members and answered by the speaker.

In this year's (2016) Reith Lectures, the guest speaker was Stephen Hawking, the famous cosmologist and professor at the University of Cambridge. In his two fifteen-minute talks, Professor Hawking: —summarizes the discoveries of modern physics regarding black holes, the exotic celestial objects whose existence challenges the very nature of space and time, —looks back at his own research, a laborious and passionate lifelong endeavor, and —informs us about the latest developments in the field, encouraging for the understanding of the laws governing our Universe, in which he continues to actively participate.

Hawking examines the astrophysics community's concerns about black holes and the challenges posed by the idea that all matter and information are definitively destroyed inside them. He explains his hypothesis that black holes may emit a type of radiation, known as Hawking radiation. He discusses research on mini black holes, which could possibly be observed at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. Finally, he articulates the theory that information may remain stored on the event horizon of a black hole in a coded form.

For those who are filled with curiosity but are bewildered, who are fascinated by ideas but feel fear about scientific topics, reading this book serves as a good impetus for reflection and enlightenment.

What they said about the book:

• “With clarity and subtle humor, Hawking explains complex issues of cosmology to a general audience. [...] He is a genuinely powerful brain.” ―Observer
• “A thrilling experience to watch such a great scientist tackle such enormous issues.” ―Sunday Times
• “Great maestro of physics, one of the few theorists who may be close to reading the mind of God.” ―Los Angeles Times
• “Since Einstein, there has been no physicist who has made the ideas of the Big Bang and the origins of the Universe so coherent and understandable to the human mind.” ―Newsday