Stephen Hawking: A Mind Aspiring to Infinity

The world's leading expert on black holes. Stephen Hawking was a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. His incredible popularity surged beyond the boundaries of the scientific world — he became a true pop culture star. A rare case for... a scientist! Plays were staged about his life and scientific theories, and both feature and documentary films were made. Stephen played himself in comedies and science fiction series. He even became a character in cartoons! Hawking was not only one of the brightest and most famous scientists of our century, but also a person with a great sense of humor. He laughed at his ailments. A severe progressive illness stripped him of the ability to move — for most of his life, Stephen was confined to a wheelchair. But that did not prevent him from engaging in the most complex calculations and writing popular science books about the universe, which became true bestsellers.