The last time I read Hawking was in college. 'A Brief History of Time'. It was a thought provoking piece of work and written with all the simplicity that could have possibly been offered on a subject so complex. On the way back from Thailand a friend had bought this book to kill time. I borrowed it after he was done.
The book talks about the theory of everything, or rather, the improbability of one. Hawking very smoothly takes us from the Newtonian world to the quantum. Throws in experiments here and there that have changed the way the scientific community thinks. Traced the path of the evolution of physics as it strove to achieve its holy grail - the theory of everything. And he gives his opinion on why there can not be a single all-encompassing theory.
As always, Hawking guides the reader into understanding the theory that he is explaining rather than forcing him to swallow axioms that baffle common sense. This is probably the most striking thing about Hawking's writing. I have read another book that discussed various candidates of such a theory of everything (Theories Of Everything - John Barrow). That book left me confused and I felt lost in the jargon. None of that feeling of being a misfit happens with Hawking. He does not portray Physics as an alien subject fit only for the masterminds of the world. He speaks and explains to the layman.
I can read more of Hawking for sure. And I will probably look him up whenever I feel that deep set urge of reading Physics that resurfaces from time to time. But frankly, I think Hawking thinks he is funnier than he actually is.
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