Crick

Matthew Cobb

ISBN 10: 1541602889 / ISBN 13: 9781541602885

Published by Basic Books Nov 2025, 2025

About this Item

Neuware -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. 608 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9781541602885

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Crick
• Publisher: Basic Books Nov 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1541602889
• ISBN 13: 9781541602885
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 239W x 154H x 50D millimeters 239 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 50 millimeters depth
• Weight: 796 grams

About this title

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. 

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.