Accessible Physics Books for Beginners

What are the most accessible physics books (think along the lines of "A Brief History of Time" by Dr. Hawking. I'm currently self studying calculus; so I'll get to the maths eventually.

Light on equations, heavy on intuition. I know the range is wide if I say: "somewhere between relativity and the standard model." I think, I, personally am interested in the fundamental interactions. But a categorized list of readings would not be opposed by me.