Ridley traces Crick's life from middle-class mediocrity through his leap into biology at the age of 31 and his co-discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

Ridley traces Crick's life from middle-class mediocrity through his leap into biology at the age of 31 and his co-discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

Part of the acclaimed Eminent Lives series, Francis Crick is the first biography of the eminent scientist, co-discoverer of the double helix structure of DNA. Written by Matt Ridley, the award-winning author of the national bestseller Genome, Francis Crick traces his life from middle class mediocrity in the English Midlands through a lackluster education and six years designing magnetic mines for the Royal Navy to his leap into biology at the age of 31 and his enormous success, providing "a considerably more complete and colorful portrait of Crick than has existed before." (New York Times)