© 2009 • 538 pp, illus., indexes
Hardcover • $45 • ISBN  978-087969798-3

This engrossing biography by one of molecular biology’s foremost scholars reveals the remarkable evolution of Francis Crick’s scientific career and the shaping of his personality. From unpromising beginnings, he became a vital contributor to a remarkably creative period in science. Olby chronicles Crick’s life from his early studies in biophysics, to the discovery of the structure of DNA, to his later work in neuroscience and the nature of consciousness. This account is woven together with insights into his personal life gained through access to Crick’s papers, family, and friends. Robert Olby’s book is a richly detailed portrait of one of the great scientists of our time.

About the author: Robert Olby, a prominent historian of science, is research professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh and author of the highly regarded Origins of Mendelism (1966, 1985) and The Path to the Double Helix (1974, 1994). He has published and lectured widely on 19th and 20th century topics in biology, genetics, and molecular biology. Olby is a member of the History of Science Society and the International Academy of the History of Science.

  “The heart of Olby’s book is the long section on the code; it is carefully researched and written in a style that allows the science itself to drive the narrative, it is absorbing and captivating...The writing is pleasant and easy to follow, a nice mix of detail and reflection...[Olby] explains the ideas, the data and the changing viewpoints step by step.”
      —Current Biology

  “...in terms of access to the subject, since Crick read and discussed much of this book before his death, as well as historical knowledge and attention to detail, this is the fullest account of the life of arguably the most important Englishman in science in the second half of the 20th century...Olby relates the scientific life with great skill, and has more space for key experiments and arguments. His book is an essential complement to other historians’ recent studies of the great days of molecular biology.”
      —Times Higher Education

  “Crick could have wished for no more suitable biographer than science historian Robert Olby, who knew him for almost 40 years and who has had full access to family members and documents...Olby gives a vivid account both of Crick’s work over a period of 60 years, and of his life, and there is much in this book that will prove to be unfamiliar, perhaps especially to geneticists...For exploring and documenting all these and other aspects of Crick’s life in a readable, sensitive and not uncritical manner, readers from all backgrounds have much to thank Robert Olby for. His story will help to confirm Francis Crick as one of the key people responsible for the transformation of our understanding of life and its processes.”
      —Human Genetics

  “Olby has compiled a substantial but enjoyable biography with 50 pages of references. Pen portraits of 70 of the principal characters are a valuable aid in this fine exploration of a remarkable mind.”
      —Chemistry World

  “All throughout, Olby intersperses detailed accounts of the science with Crick’s persona. Neither perspective is at the expense of the other and together they enable and elevate the book, the two wound together in the mutual relationship of a helix. The personal details are as interesting as the science and, if anyone was wondering — yes, a genius like Crick was not uncomplicated...I suppose reviews of a biography could be divided into ones by those who knew the subject versus those who did not. I knew Francis Crick quite well and think Olby has gotten him right on all scores. Crick was guarded on first encounter but once he thought a person was ‘OK’ he let all loose. He knew and trusted Robert Olby and the result has given us something truly memorable.”
      —Thoru Pederson, Nucleus

  “Olby brilliantly follows Crick through [his] creative years. By highlighting the scientist’s interactions with a growing group of others devoted to developing the field, he captures the excitement, false dawns and triumphs that followed the Watson-Crick model of DNA. Olby is fair to all of the early participants in DNA work: Linus Pauling, Maurice Wilkins and, above all, Rosalind Franklin and her collaborators at King’s College London...Issues of priority generate passion, but Olby’s account can be recommended for its dispassionate analysis and mastery of archival sources.”
      —Nature

  “This book provides a detailed and authoritative account of the life in science of this very remarkable man and should have a wide readership, not only among scientists.”
      —The FASEB Journal

  “...an outstanding work that probes the personal motivations and technical details of Crick’s research on the structure of DNA, the genetic code, the mechanism of protein synthesis, and his later research in the neurosciences...Olby emphasizes the creative tension between Crick’s imaginative theorizing and his critical demand for sound evidence. Highly recommended.”
      —Choice

Time Line

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. The Call to Stockholm

2. A Difficult Act to Follow

3. From the Provinces to the Big City

4. War Work for the Royal Navy

5. Biology at the Strangeways

6. Helical Molecules at the Cavendish Laboratory

7. The DNA Fiasco

8. Two Pitchmen in Search of A Helix

9. A Most Important Discovery?

10. Publishing the Model

11. Employed by the John Wayne of Crystallography

12. The Genetic Code

13. Preaching the Central Dogma

14. Crick as Experimentalist Attacking the Genetic Code

15. The Excitement of the Sixties

16. Speaking out on Controversial Subjects

17. Biological Complexity

18. Leaving the ‘Old Country’

19. Taking the Plunge: Neuroscience

20. From the Searchlight to the Soul

21. Eighty-Eight Years

Epilogue

Sources and Notes

Illustrations Credits

Biographical Index

Index