Rosalind Franklin is one of my heroes. She faced unnecessary bullying by other scientists, had her lab notes stolen. I have no respect for chauvinist, James Watson who cites her in his book -- disrespectfully, and appears to be complicit in the theft of her work. This was a great biography about an underrated scholar. Kudos to Maddox for her excellent work in bringing Franklin to life. ( )

what a painful read. i think i liked her as the woman of mystery more. maddox's biography was a defensive stance against watson and crick's description of her in their books, The Double Helix and What Mad Pursuit. how DARE they say she didn't care about her appearance!?!?!?? Maddox makes sure you know that Rosalind was a very tasteful dresser indeed. ( )

I'm not a biography lover, but this was a great book regardless of its classification. Watson & Crick become the bad guys and you can't help but hope that she'll win in the end, even though you already know she doesn't. Such an amazing mind, and somehow a sad life and, of course, death.

This biography paints an amazing picture of a courageous female scientist who broke glass ceilings on every step of her academic journey. Rosalind Franklin is the little known analyst whose x-ray photographs inspired Watson and Crick's Nobel prize winning work on the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Brenda Maddox presents a well written and fascinating insight into Franklin's personality, research, family, relationships as well as her untimely death. An excellent read, recommended to all fans of biographies and/or molecular biology. ( )

A fine portrait of a major contributor to the discovery of DNA. This biography absorbs the reader at many levels - RF's fascinating, complex personality; the struggles of a talented woman in a man's world; the labour pains of scientific discovery; academic politics; crude ambition; stupendous courage...Once read, not forgotten. ( )