Crick
A Mind in Motion
-
- $19.99
Publisher Description
A major new biography of Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, pioneering neuroscientist, and twentieth-century genius
"Vivid and authoritative... [an] intriguing portrait of a gifted, self-absorbed, exuberant, and intuitive man." —The New York Times
Named a Best Book of the Year by Economist • Guardian
What are the moments that make a life? In Francis Crick’s, the decisive moment came in 1951, when he first met James Watson. Their ensuing discovery of the structure of DNA made Crick world-famous. But neither that chance meeting nor that discovery made Crick who he was.
As Matthew Cobb shows in Crick, it is another chance encounter, with a line from the writing of Beat poet Michael McClure, that reveals Crick’s character: “THIS IS THE POWERFUL KNOWLEDGE,” it shouted. Crick, having read it, would keep it with him for the rest of his life, a token of his desire to solve the riddles of existence. John Keats once accused scientists of merely wanting to “unweave a rainbow,” but it was an irrepressible, Romantic urge to wonder that defined Crick, as much as a desire to find the basis of life in DNA and the workings of our minds.
For the first time ever, Cobb presents the full portrait of Crick, a scientist and a man: his triumphs and failings, insights and oversights. Crick set out to find the powerful knowledge. Almost miraculously, he did.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cobb (The Genetic Age), a professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Manchester, captures the era when DNA and the genetic code were still a mystery in this comprehensive biography of Francis Crick, the scientist who, along with James Watson and others, discovered the structure of DNA. Cobb portrays Crick as an endlessly curious man (he was still "excited as a schoolboy" about new ideas, one acquaintance said shortly before Crick's death at 88 in 2004) and conveys the sense of wonder and delight that accompany scientific problem solving. While Crick is inextricably linked with DNA, Cobb emphasizes that he also made significant contributions to neuroscience, bringing global attention to the cellular and molecular underpinnings of human consciousness. Along the way, Cobb acknowledges some of the scientist's more problematic behavior, including his eugenicist views and extramarital affairs, but disputes accusations that Crick and Watson made their DNA discovery by stealing data from scientist Rosalind Franklin, arguing that new evidence suggests Franklin was an active collaborator. The result is a richly detailed picture of a brilliant and innovative, if flawed, man. Readers will be captivated.
