Ever walked into a bookstore, seen a massive, black-spined tome with Stephen Hawking’s name on it, and wondered if you’re actually smart enough to read it? Honestly, most people feel that way. It’s intimidating. On the Shoulders of Giants isn't just a book; it’s a massive collection of the primary texts that literally built the modern world. Hawking didn't write the whole thing—he curated it. He took the original papers from Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein and smashed them together into one volume.
Physics is hard.
But here’s the thing: reading the original words of these "giants" is a totally different experience than reading a dry textbook summary. When you open the On the Shoulders of Giants book, you aren't just getting formulas. You're getting the drama, the heresy, and the sheer "aha!" moments of men who were often terrified of what they’d discovered.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Collection
A lot of readers buy this thinking it’s A Brief History of Time part two. It isn't. If you’re looking for Hawking’s witty metaphors about gambling God, you’ll only find those in the short introductions he wrote for each section. The bulk of the text is raw, unfiltered scientific history.
We’re talking about Nicolaus Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. This was the book that basically told the Church, "Hey, we aren't the center of the universe," and then waited until the author was on his deathbed to be published because of the fallout. Then you’ve got Galileo Galilei’s Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences. Galileo didn't just write math; he wrote a conversation between three characters—Salviati, Sagredo, and Simplicio—to dodge the Inquisition. It’s a bit like a 17th-century play that happens to explain how gravity works.
Many people assume these old texts are obsolete. Why read Newton’s Principia when you can just watch a five-minute YouTube video on gravity? Because the Principia shows you the process of genius. It shows a man inventing calculus just because he needed a tool to prove why planets move in ellipses. It’s messy. It’s dense. It’s brilliant.
The Five Pillars of the Book
- Nicolaus Copernicus: The man who moved the Earth.
- Galileo Galilei: The guy who actually looked through the telescope and got in trouble for it.
- Johannes Kepler: He figured out the orbits weren't perfect circles—which was a huge deal back then.
- Isaac Newton: Basically the GOAT of physics until the 1900s.
- Albert Einstein: The one who showed us that time and space are actually just a giant, stretchy fabric.
Why Hawking Chose These Specific Works
Hawking was obsessed with the idea of a "Theory of Everything." He knew that his own work on black holes and the Big Bang was just the latest floor in a skyscraper started centuries ago. He titled the book On the Shoulders of Giants as a nod to Newton’s famous 1675 letter to Robert Hooke, where he said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."
Newton was kinda being a jerk when he said that, by the way. Hooke was short and had a bit of a hunchback, so many historians think Newton was actually taking a dig at his rival’s physical appearance. Hawking, with his legendary sense of humor, likely appreciated that bit of historical shade.
But the selection is tactical. Hawking wanted to show the transition from "theology-based observation" to "mathematical certainty." You see Copernicus struggling to keep some of the old Greek ideas while tossing others. Then you see Einstein completely shattering Newton’s "absolute time" with his papers on Relativity. It’s a narrative of humans being wrong, then slightly less wrong, then eventually figuring out E=mc².
The Einstein Section is the Real MVP
If you only buy the On the Shoulders of Giants book for one reason, let it be the Einstein papers. Most of us know the formula $E=mc^2$, but seeing the 1905 "Annus Mirabilis" papers in their original form is wild. Einstein was working as a patent clerk at the time. He wasn't some high-ranking professor; he was a guy with a desk job who changed how we perceive reality during his lunch breaks. Hawking’s introduction to Einstein is particularly moving because you can feel the professional respect one genius has for another.
Is It Actually Readable for a Normal Person?
Let's be real. If you try to read this cover-to-cover like a Stephen King novel, your brain will melt by page fifty. Kepler’s Harmony of the World involves a lot of weird stuff about music and geometry that is frankly exhausting.
The trick is to use it as a reference. You read Hawking’s biography of the scientist first. He gives you the tea—who they married, who they hated, and why their discovery mattered. Then, you dip into the primary text. Reading Galileo’s descriptions of the moon’s surface is surprisingly poetic. He talks about mountains and valleys in a way that makes you realize he was the first human to ever "see" another world.
The math in the later sections, especially Newton and Einstein, is heavy. You’ll see things like:
$$F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}$$
📖 Related: How to Use the Tom Green County Odyssey Portal Without Losing Your Mind
And you might panic. Don't. You don't need to solve the equations to understand the philosophy behind them. The On the Shoulders of Giants book is more about the evolution of human thought than it is about passing a physics exam.
The Legacy of the "Giants" in 2026
Why does this book still matter now? We’re living in an era of AI and quantum computing. Everything we do online relies on the stuff in this book. Your GPS doesn't work without Einstein’s General Relativity. Your house doesn't stay up without Newton’s laws of motion.
Hawking’s curation reminds us that science isn't a collection of facts; it’s a relay race. One person grabs the baton, runs as far as they can, and hands it off. Sometimes the person they hand it to is a hermit (Newton) or a rebel (Galileo).
There’s a common misconception that science is "settled." It never is. Copernicus settled the idea that the Earth moves, but he was wrong about how it moved (he thought it was perfect circles). Kepler corrected him with ellipses. Newton explained why it moved with gravity. Einstein then explained that gravity isn't a force but a curve in spacetime. Hawking, and those after him, are still trying to figure out the rest.
What You'll Learn That Isn't in Other Books
- How Galileo used "thought experiments" because he didn't have the tech to actually do the tests.
- The fact that Newton was deeply into alchemy and spent as much time trying to turn lead into gold as he did on gravity.
- The intense religious pressure these men faced—most were actually very devout and saw science as a way to understand God’s "language."
Actionable Insights for the Aspiring Reader
If you’re ready to tackle the On the Shoulders of Giants book, don't just put it on your coffee table to look smart. Actually engage with it.
📖 Related: Finding a Spider Man Case for iPad Without Buying Total Junk
Start with the biographies. Hawking’s writing style is accessible and focuses on the humanity of these scientists. It makes the subsequent technical papers feel like personal diaries rather than homework.
Next, focus on the "Why." Instead of getting bogged down in the geometry of the 1600s, ask yourself: What was the world like before this paper? Before Copernicus, people genuinely believed the stars were fixed on a sphere and we were the center of everything. Imagine the psychological shock of realizing we’re just on a rock spinning through a void. That’s the "vibe" you should look for in the text.
Finally, look for the overlaps. See how Newton mentions the work of those before him. Notice how Einstein references the "Maxwellian" universe. This book is a map of connections.
- Read the Introductions First: Treat Hawking’s essays as the "SparkNotes" for the heavy stuff.
- Skip the Boring Parts: Seriously. If Kepler’s talk of "celestial music" is too much, move on to Galileo.
- Keep a Notebook: Jot down the phrases that blow your mind. Galileo’s description of the "starry messengers" is particularly beautiful.
- Context is Everything: Keep a tab open for a historical timeline of the 17th century to see what else was happening (wars, plagues, etc.) while these guys were changing the world.
The On the Shoulders of Giants book is a heavy lift, both physically and mentally. But it’s the closest thing we have to a "greatest hits" album for the human mind. It’s a testament to the fact that we can figure out the universe, even if we start with nothing but a telescope and a bit of curiosity.