Hawking's memoir keeps its cards close to its chest

My Brief History

**By Stephen Hawking**

**Bantam Press, €16.35**

**Reviewed by Brendan Daly**

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A startling black-and-white photo graces the cover of My Brief History. Taken at Oxford University in 1961, the portrait of the college's Boat Club shimmers with a Goon Show sensibility. Most are wearing dark-coloured tweed jackets, but one man is standing on his head, one is dangling a hammer above his teammate, and another is wearing only a loincloth.