Crick - by Matthew Cobb (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"[E]rudite and exciting... will almost certainly become the definitive biography of Francis Crick."--Times Literary Supplement

"Matthew Cobb has produced an ably written biography... the many curious encounters of Crick's life... are engrossingly rendered."--Irish Times

"Many biographies use a singular life as a kaleidoscope to refract a historical period and view its patterns... Cobb's biography does something different. His Crick was both the consummate insider and a scientific outlier."--Los Angeles Review of Books

"There is much here about the intellectual jousting that was part of academic life in postwar England, and Cobb does a grand job of portraying this long-lost world." --Sydney Morning Herald

"[M]asterful... Matthew Cobb engagingly recounts the man's life and career." --Washington Independent Review of Books

"Deeply researched and intellectually fascinating."--Physics World

"[Crick's] real second act was in the nascent field of neuroscience. Mr. Cobb... is especially persuasive on Crick's hitherto unacknowledged influence here."--Wall Street Journal

"Vivid and authoritative... [an] intriguing portrait of a gifted, self-absorbed, exuberant, and intuitive man."--New York Times

"Cobb sets himself an ambitious task in trying to do justice to both Crick's prolific scientific career and his colourful personal life, and this biography is an impressive work of research and scholarship....Cobb captures the intellectual restlessness of a man who chased problems (and women) rather than disciplines, and who mixed with artists and beat poets."--Guardian

"This captivating biography is deeply researched and elegantly written." --The Economist

"[An] absorbing new biography... Cobb writes with clarity and a touch of affection for his subject." --The Times

"[A] scintillating biography of Francis Crick... Even though his method is founded in picky and detailed research, Cobb is never boring." --Current Biology Magazine

"CRICK is set to become the definitive account of this polymath's life and work." --Science

"If you are interested in how DNA's structure was discovered and what happened next, this is the book to read."--New Scientist

"[An] excellent introduction to the man and his work, and a book that can be recommended to the scientifically inquisitive reader."--Literary Review

"[A] magisterial new biography... Cobb is reliably excellent in maintaining the narrative momentum of a life in science that was anything but mundane."--Nature

"Crick: A Mind in Motion beautifully captures the personality of Francis Crick, the way I knew him for 16 years, his incandescent intellect, his incessant striving for mechanistic explanations in terms of genes and neurons underlying the code of life and the footprints of consciousness in the brain, always, always asking why and why not, until, literally, the day he died."--Christof Koch, author of Then I Am Myself the World

"...[A] richly detailed picture of a brilliant and innovative, if flawed, man. Readers will be captivated." --Publishers Weekly

"Knowledgeable."--Kirkus

"An enthralling biography. Clear, sharp and meticulous, Crick is the story of a mind that never stopped questioning - and how science is still trying to catch up."--Roger Highfield, author of Virtual You

"Like Crick himself, this is brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography."--Adam Rutherford, author of Creation

"This is the biography that Crick deserves: compellingly readable, insightful, celebratory and critical as the content demands, and entirely true to the spirit of this ingenious, remarkable and sometimes infuriating man. It is hard to imagine this book ever being bettered."--Philip Ball, author of How Life Works: A User's Guide

"At last: a life of Crick that resembles the original--immensely learned, jaunty, funny, often surprisingly tender. Cobb puts the legendary mind of Francis Crick back where it belongs--in the body of a very human being."--Nathaniel Comfort, John Hopkins University

"In this thrilling biography of one of the 20th century's greatest minds, Cobb uncovers the unseen twists, relentless curiosity, and sheer audacity that shaped Francis Crick's remarkable life. This intimate portrait will inspire any reader drawn to the thrill of discovery and the power of big ideas."--David Eagleman, author of Livewired and Incognito

About the Author

Matthew Cobb is a professor emeritus at the University of Manchester He earned his PhD in psychology and genetics from the University of Sheffield. He is the author of seven books including: As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age, The Idea of the Brain, and Life's Greatest Secret. He lives in England.