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A review by walkerct
Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
5.0
A thoroughly enjoyable, informative, and well-researched biography of one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. Maddox paints a vivid and detailed account of Franklin's life, in particular her x-ray crystallography work at King's College that led directly to Watson and Crick's model of the helical structure of DNA. She covers the controversy of those times in an even-handed manner, detailing the ways in which Franklin x-ray photographs and mathematical calculations on the nature of DNA were shared with Watson and Crick by Maurice Wilkins without her knowledge. It's unfortunate that a number of factors, especially the sexism inherent in the scientific community, provided a low point in Franklin's professional life (she was unhappy for almost her entire time working at King's College) during a time of such exciting scientific discoveries. Maddox takes Watson to task especially for his incredibly unfair and inaccurate portrayal of Franklin in his book "The Double Helix".
In many ways Franklin's legacy has been defined by this time in her life (it was pretty much all I knew about her before reading this book), which is a shame, because she did so much incredible scientific work both before and after her work on DNA. She had major success in the study of coal and the tobacco mosaic virus, and hand begun working on the polio virus before her death at 37 from ovarian cancer. In that short amount of time she achieved an amount of scientific success that would have been impressive for someone twice her age. Maddox, despite not having a science background, does a great job of expressing the importance of Franklin's various discoveries.
Beyond her scientific pursuits, I was both pleased and a little surprised, given her (undeserved) reputation as being solely focused on her professional life, to discover what a rich personal life she had. Though in some ways a very proper and reserved person, Franklin was very warm and generous toward those with whom she became close. She was also passionate about fashion and travel, especially hiking. She left behind a wealth of correspondence with friends and family, and Maddox makes expert use of this to provide insight on Franklin's inner-life. I left this book with an even deeper appreciation of Rosalind Franklin as both a scientist and a human being, which to me is the mark of a successful biography. Highly recommended!
In many ways Franklin's legacy has been defined by this time in her life (it was pretty much all I knew about her before reading this book), which is a shame, because she did so much incredible scientific work both before and after her work on DNA. She had major success in the study of coal and the tobacco mosaic virus, and hand begun working on the polio virus before her death at 37 from ovarian cancer. In that short amount of time she achieved an amount of scientific success that would have been impressive for someone twice her age. Maddox, despite not having a science background, does a great job of expressing the importance of Franklin's various discoveries.
Beyond her scientific pursuits, I was both pleased and a little surprised, given her (undeserved) reputation as being solely focused on her professional life, to discover what a rich personal life she had. Though in some ways a very proper and reserved person, Franklin was very warm and generous toward those with whom she became close. She was also passionate about fashion and travel, especially hiking. She left behind a wealth of correspondence with friends and family, and Maddox makes expert use of this to provide insight on Franklin's inner-life. I left this book with an even deeper appreciation of Rosalind Franklin as both a scientist and a human being, which to me is the mark of a successful biography. Highly recommended!