---
title: "A Briefer History of Time (Schulman book)"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Briefer_History_of_Time_(Schulman_book)"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:31:15.044611+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

A Briefer History of Time is a science humor book by American astronomer Eric Schulman. In it, Schulman presents humorous summaries of what he claims are the fifty-three most important events since the beginning of time.
The title and cover are a parody of Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time. Coincidentally, Hawking later wrote a "sequel" entitled A Briefer History of Time. Hawking's publisher Bantam Books was aware that the title had already been used in a popular science book, but proceeded anyway, stating, "The other book was published six years ago, and Professor Hawking is an international figure."

In 2004, the author released the book under a creative commons license, CC BY-NC-ND 1.0, as a free download on his website.


== Description ==
Schulman's book is intended to be both humorous and educational. It explores why, even though the Universe is expanding, finding a parking space does not get any easier. Furthermore, the book contains a pulp version of the origin of life ("It was a dark and stormy night. In the shallow tide pool, a nucleic acid base collided with a sugar molecule. An amino acid sank beneath the murky depths . . . .").


== References ==