Audiobook

Stephen Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death. He has come to be thought of as the greatest mind in physics since Albert Einstein. With similar interests -- discovering the deepest workings of the universe -- he has been able to communicate arcane matters not just to other physicists but to the general public. Hawking grew up outside London in an intellectual family. His father was a physician and specialist in tropical diseases; his mother was active in the Liberal Party.

David Sedaris (born December 26, 1956) is an American humorous essayist and radio contributor. Much of his humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, concerning his large family life, Greek heritage, various jobs, education, and his life in France with his boyfriend Hugh.

He was born in Binghamton, New York, and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He dropped out of Kent State University in 1977, and ten years later graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago. In his teens and twenties, he dabbled in visual and performance art.

John Ronald Simm (born July 10, 1970 in Leeds, West Yorkshire) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for his role as DI Sam Tyler in the BBC detective drama Life on Mars. He has also recently appeared as the latest incarnation of The Master in the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who.

Thought to be one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, James Joyce is a key figure in the modernist movement. He is an Irish writer whose stories always take place in Ireland; however, he actually left the country at 22, returning infrequently. He is best known for his landmark novel Ulysses, an extremely difficult and intricate story taking place on June 16, 1904. His other major works are the short story collection Dubliners and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Finnegans Wake.