Free Radicals The Secret Anarchy of Science

by Brooks, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781590208540
• ISBN10: 1590208544
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-26
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Summary

The thrilling exploration of the secret side of scientific discovery --proving that some rules were meant to be broken scientists have colluded in the most successful cover-up of modern times. They present themselves as cool, logical, and level-headed, when the truth is that they will do anything --take drugs, follow mystical visions, lie and even cheat --to make a discovery. They are often more interested in starting revolutions than in playing by the rules. In Free Radicals, bestselling author Michael Brooks reveals the extreme lengths some of our most celebrated scientists --such as Newton, Einstein, and Watson and Crick --are willing to go to, from fraud to reckless, unethical experiments, in order to make new discoveries and bring them to the world's attention.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. 1
How it Begins	p. 15
Dreams, drugs and visions from God
The Delinquents	p. 41
Rules are there to be broken
Masters of Illusion	p. 75
Evidence isn't everything
Playing with Fire	p. 101
No pain, no gain
Sacrilege	p. 133
Breaking taboos is part of the game
Fight Club	p. 163
There's no prize for the runner-up
Defending the Throne	p. 192
Machiavelli would be proud
In the Line of Fire	p. 216
Life on the barricades
Epilogue	p. 242
Acknowledgements	p. 261
Notes and sources	p. 263
Index	p. 301
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.