A Brief History of Time — Stephen Hawking (1988)

Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time made complex cosmology accessible to millions, selling 25 million copies worldwide. Its lucid explanations of black holes, the Big Bang, and quantum mechanics turned abstruse physics into a mainstream fascination, sparking a global surge in science readership. With a 49% increase in popular science book sales noted in the UK the year following its release, its impact is measurable. While #5 Silent Spring sparked policy change through alarm, Hawking's work achieved something rarer: it made theoretical physics feel personal and graspable, outperforming #6 The Art of War in cultural permeation among non-specialist audiences. No other science book has so bridged the gap between the laboratory and the living room.