Crick (Hardback)

A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain

Matthew Cobb

The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain

'Cobb is a rare jewel' Adam Rutherford

Francis Crick was a restless, relentless thinker, as fascinated by Beat poetry and psychedelics as the genetic meaning of life and the inner workings of the brain. Yet for all his drive, he was galvanised by collaboration: with Jim Watson on DNA, with artists in Cambridge and California, and with his wife Odile, who drew the figure of the double helix that illuminated his most famous discovery. It was his debates and conflicts with these collaborators that powered a mind in motion.

Meticulously researched and shot through with insight and electrifying detail, Matthew Cobb reveals the man who changed our view of life forever. Crick is the first major biography of one of the twentieth century's most exciting minds.

Publication date: 06/11/2025

£30.00

ISBN: 9781800811058

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Arts, Language & Literature

Crick (Ebook)

A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain

Matthew Cobb

Preorder from

The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain

'Cobb is a rare jewel' Adam Rutherford

Francis Crick was a restless, relentless thinker, as fascinated by Beat poetry and psychedelics as the genetic meaning of life and the inner workings of the brain. Yet for all his drive, he was galvanised by collaboration: with Jim Watson on DNA, with artists in Cambridge and California, and with his wife Odile, who drew the figure of the double helix that illuminated his most famous discovery. It was his debates and conflicts with these collaborators that powered a mind in motion.

Meticulously researched and shot through with insight and electrifying detail, Matthew Cobb reveals the man who changed our view of life forever. Crick is the first major biography of one of the twentieth century's most exciting minds.

Publication date: 06/11/2025

£21.99

ISBN: 9781800811065

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B0DWGW43DL

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Arts, Language & Literature

Crick (Audiobook)

A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain

Matthew Cobb

Preorder from

The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain

'Cobb is a rare jewel' Adam Rutherford

Francis Crick was a restless, relentless thinker, as fascinated by Beat poetry and psychedelics as the genetic meaning of life and the inner workings of the brain. Yet for all his drive, he was galvanised by collaboration: with Jim Watson on DNA, with artists in Cambridge and California, and with his wife Odile, who drew the figure of the double helix that illuminated his most famous discovery. It was his debates and conflicts with these collaborators that powered a mind in motion.

Meticulously researched and shot through with insight and electrifying detail, Matthew Cobb reveals the man who changed our view of life forever. Crick is the first major biography of one of the twentieth century's most exciting minds.

Publication date: 06/11/2025

£29.99

ISBN: 9781805226376

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B0F3PK5L9W

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Arts, Language & Literature

Read by: Neil Gardner

Reviews for Crick

'Like Crick himself, this is brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography'

Adam Rutherford, author Creation

'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 Virtual You

'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 How Life Works: A User's Guide

'Cobb's brilliant new biography tracks the weighty twentieth century life of Francis Crick. Just as Crick peered into DNA looking for its structure, Cobb peers into an idiosyncratic and even unlikely scientific career, from Cambridge to California, from DNA to neuroscience. Engaging and enlightening'

Alison Bashford, author The Huxleys

'A fascinating insight into the man behind one of the most well-known names in biology and his incredible contributions to science. A detailed, affectionate and thoroughly enjoyable account of Crick's restless and relentless pursuit of the bigger truths'

Kathryn Harkup, author The Secret Lives of the Elements

'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, biographer of James Watson 

'In this thrilling biography of one of the twentieth 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 The Brain

'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 Then I Am Myself The World

'Praise for The Genetic Age: Fascinating, occasionally chilling and very readable'

Rhys Blakely The Times

'An excellent primer for anyone seeking a well-informed discussion of the moral implications of this enduringly controversial science'

 Economist

'Detailed and deeply researched ... striking ... complex'

Henry Marsh New Statesman

'Disturbing and readable'

 New Scientist

'[A] deeply researched and often deeply troubling history of gene science ... [in search of] decency and honor in a morally complex field'

 New York Times

Matthew Cobb

Matthew Cobb

Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behaviour and the history of science. His books include The Egg & Sperm Race and acclaimed accounts of the French Resistance during the Second World War and the liberation of Paris in 1944.

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