In 2016 Professor Stephen Hawking delivered the BBC Reith Lectures on a subject that has fascinated him for decades - black holes. In these flagship lectures the legendary physicist argues that if we could only understand black holes and how they challenge the very nature of space and time, we could unlock the secrets of the universe.

*THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER*As seen on Apple TV - 1971: The Year That Music Changed EverythingThe Sixties ended a year late - on New Year's Eve 1970, when Paul McCartney initiated proceedings to wind up The Beatles.

THE FIRST BODY IS A MYSTERY. And her corpse, laid out in the office of Boston medical examiner Kat Novak, betrays no secrets - except for a matchbook clutched in one stiff hand, seven numbers scrawled inside. And Kat's chief suspect is one of the town's most prominent citizens.THE FINAL BODY . . .

Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? This book examines these questions. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes.

In the three decades since the end of the Cold War, global leaders have been integrating the world's economy, transport and communications, breaking down borders in the hope of making war impossible.