Howard Markel is the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan, an award-winning author, and a frequent contributor to the PBS News Hour and the New York Times. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"Howard Markel’s brilliant book examining the discovery of DNA is a
‘must read’ for biologists and historians. But this is also a book
for every reader; it brings to life the discovery of life itself.
From Watson, Crick, and Franklin, to the dozens of characters that
Markel includes, The Secret of Life covers vast and important
ground... An indispensable work."
*Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor
of All Maladies and The Gene*
"The discovery of DNA is one of history’s light switch moments,
when the world of science—indeed, humanity—changed forever. Though
much has been written on the subject, nothing remotely compares to
Howard Markel’s magisterial account. Elegantly written, packed with
fresh insights gleaned from a wealth of original sources, The
Secret of Life takes us into the minds and laboratories of the
leading players, highlighting their brilliance, their ambitions,
and their sometimes questionable ethical behavior. This book is the
merging of a seminal subject and superb author—one of the leading
medical historians of our era. The result is truly remarkable."
*David Oshinsky, Professor of History and Medicine, NYU, and
Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Polio: An American Story*
"Howard Markel’s wonderfully-written book, The Secret of Life,
explores the story of genetics up to the revolutionary mid-20th
century decoding of the structure of DNA. And it does so in such
brilliant detail that the result is—even for those who might think
they know this story—a tale that proves fresh, provocative,
startlingly insightful, and addictively fun to read."
*Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad:
One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of
the Twentieth Century*
"The 1953 discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure might be one of
science’s most fascinating and oft-told stories. Yet much about it
is still contentious… Howard Markel’s fine book focuses on the role
of Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray crystallography image of DNA —
crucial to Francis Crick and James Watson’s breakthrough — was used
without her permission."
*Andrew Robinson - Nature*
"A cinematic account of toxic masculinity among 1950s DNA
researchers… [Rosalind Franklin] probably would have hated being
the heroine of a movie, but we’re fortunate to have books such as
this to put her back in the picture."
*Katy Guest - The Guardian*
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