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Abstract
Anyone brazen enough to compile a top ten list deserves to be deafened by the sound of thousands of readers striking their foreheads with their palms in frustration and exasperation at the omissions, arbitrariness, and unexplainable decisions sure to accompany the proffered selections. Of course, we know that, but we've compiled some entries anyway.
The Double Helix by James D. Watson. Brown University professor of biology Kenneth R. Miller provides an interesting reader's guide reader's guide to the book that corrected much of the public's misconception about scientists being above the ambition and pettiness that characterizes most professions. As Miller writes, "Erwin Chargaff is correct, I believe, in suggesting that the Watson memoir 'may contribute to the much-needed demythologizing of modern science.'" For another opinion of the book, see the review at Queen's University's Science Education Resource Page.
Heraclitean Fire: Sketches from a Life before Nature by Erwin Chargaff. The Austrian-American biochemist's autobiography is as revealing in its way as Watson's memoir. Chargaff showed that in the DNA code, [A] = [T] and [G] = [C], a useful bit of information for Watson and Crick. Often grumpy and opinionated, Chargaff's experiences show another side of science worth sampling. Amazon reports the book is out of print, but offers to search for a copy. See also the publisher's ( The Rockefeller Press) site.
Privile ged Hands: A Scientific Life by Geerat J. Vermeij is an original account of another unique, opinionated scientist. Perhaps the author's lack of sight contributes to his individuality, but probably not. This paleontologist and evolutionary biologist would undoubtedly have produced as individualistic a biography if he had the eyesight of most scientists. But most scientists would not be able to tell such a story. An excerpt from the book has been published by HMS Beagle.
Memoir of a Thinking Radish by Peter Medawar. It is depressing to think that new generations of scientists may not be aware of some of the exceptional, articulate, and accomplished scientists who are now gone. Medawar, the 1960 Nobel laureate in medicine, is one example of an erudite scholar-scientist who should not be forgotten. Reading his autobiography provides a good introduction to his work.
The Statue Within by François Jacob. His accomplishments have permanently linked his name which such basic elements of modern genetics as operons, plasmids, and mRNA.
Unfortunately, neither Rosalyn Franklin, the crystallographer who provided essential data for Watson and Crick, nor Barbara McClintock, who won a Nobel Prize for her research in genetics despite the disdain many molecular biologist held for her classical approaches, left autobiographies. There are, however, good biographies of each scientist. Look for Evelyn Fox Keller's A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock and Anne Sayer's Rosalind Franklin and DNA. One exceptionally successful female scientist who did write an autobiography is Rita Levi-Montalcini, the discoverer of nerve growth factor. Her book, In Praise of Imperfection: My Life and Work is out of print, unfortunately.
We tried to limit this list to biologists but could not. We could find no one quite like physicist Richard P. Feynman, a man is too entertaining to exclude. Feynman was certainly more complex and at times more unpleasant than his popular reputation suggests. But his dictated memoir, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" Adventures of a Curious Character should remind any scientist that the study of science, at its core, really ought to be fun. Sure, fun might be easier to find in modern-day science if you are a tenured genius with a Nobel Prize, but you don't have to be one to enjoy Feynman's anecdotes. An excerpt, Cargo Cult Science, provides a sample of Feynman's way of looking at the world.
Another physicist, Luis Alvarez, makes the list because he provocatively wandered across academic disciplines by stepping into the field of biology with his theory that a giant meteor wiped out the dinosaurs and other species. Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist is one of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Series of books. With luck, it will be reprinted someday. We recommend it for the authors with a wide range of interests, an unaffordable rarity for many researchers.
Lewis Thomas's The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher, a reminiscence of medicine in his father's time and the changes it underwent during his own career as a medical researcher, qualifies as autobiography. And Thomas's style, in the opinions of many readers and critics, qualifies him as a scientist-poet.
And of course there is the Autobiography of Charles Darwin, edited by Nora Barlow. There is no way HMS Beagle could or should ignore the life story of the famous recluse who ascended into the Biology Hall of Fame over a century ago. Excerpts from an older edition are available from a Central Connecticut State University site.
Other autobiographies by scientists of note are:
A Slot Machine, a Broken Test Tube by S.E. Luria, who helped figure out the genetic structure of viruses and the how they replicate.
What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery. Francis Crick, the codiscoverer of the structure of DNA and a giant in the field of molecular biology, tells his story. Jacques Monod said "One man dominates intellectually the whole field, because he knows the most and understands the most. Francis Crick."
Egg and Ego: An Almost True Story of Life in the Biology Lab, by J.M.W. Slack, provides an entertaining account of his life as a developmental biologist. HMS Beagle recently reviewed this book.
Naturalist covers Edward O. Wilson's lifelong love of biology and discusses the sources of his provocative ideas.
Disturbing the Universe by Freeman J. Dyson. Dyson is one of a rare breed of scientists who see the world from more than just a scientific perspective.
For the Love Of Enzymes: The Odyssey of a Biochemist by Arthur Kornberg. Enzyme chemistry and DNA synthesis figure strongly in this autobiography.
Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, by Kary B. Mullis. The "bad boy, dropout" scientist with a Nobel Prize tells his story.
The Camel's Nose: Memoirs of a Curious Scientist, by Knut Schmidt-Nielsen. Schmidt-Nielsen has been described as "offbeat." The biologist answers questions about animal physiology while telling the story of his life spent wondering about all sorts of questions that you might not even know are interesting. For a sample, try an excerpt published by The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina).
Dean Haycock is a journalist who writes science articles for many magazines and newspapers. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brown University.
Andrzej Krauze is an illustrator, poster maker, cartoonist, and painter who illustrates regularly for HMS Beagle, The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph, Bookseller, and New Statesman.
