Crick (Paperback)
A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
Preorder from
The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
Winner of the Hatchards First Biography Prize 2025
'The definitive backstory of one of the towering figures of 20th-century science' Guardian
'Brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography' 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.
Crick (Hardback)
A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
Buy from
The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
Winner of the Hatchards First Biography Prize 2025
Shortlisted for The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2026
'The definitive backstory of one of the towering figures of 20th-century science' Guardian Books of the Year
'Brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography' 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.
Crick (Ebook)
A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
Buy from
The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
Winner of the Hatchards First Biography Prize 2025
Shortlisted for The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2026
'The definitive backstory of one of the towering figures of 20th-century science' Guardian Books of the Year
'Brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography' 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.
Crick (Audiobook)
A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
Buy from
The first major biography of Francis Crick, by the Baillie-Gifford shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
Winner of the Hatchards First Biography Prize 2025
Shortlisted for The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2026
'The definitive backstory of one of the towering figures of 20th-century science' Guardian Books of the Year
'Brilliant and inspiring. A landmark biography' 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.
Reviews for Crick
TLS
Georgina Ferry Nature
The Times
New Scientist
Economist
'The best science and nature books of 2025' Guardian
New York Times
Magnificent and expansive ... Crick is set to become the definitive account of this polymath's
life and work.
'
Adrian Woolfson Science
Church Times
Current Biology
Literary Review
The Week
Irish Examiner
Helen Czerski
Physics World
Sydney Morning Herald
Eric Topol MD
Adam Rutherford, author Creation
Roger Highfield, author Virtual You
Philip Ball, author How Life Works: A User's Guide
Alison Bashford, author The Huxleys
Kathryn Harkup, author The Secret Lives of the Elements
Nathaniel Comfort, biographer of James Watson
David Eagleman, author The Brain
Christof Koch, author Then I Am Myself The World
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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