Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science

For more than a century, science has cultivated a sober public image for itself; but as the author explains, the truth is very different. Many of our most successful scientists have more in common with libertines than librarians.

This exploration of some of the greatest breakthroughs in science reveals the extreme lengths some scientists go to in order to make their theories public. Fraud, suppressing evidence and unethical or reckless PR games are sometimes necessary to bring the best and most brilliant discoveries to the world's attention.

Science is a highly competitive and ruthless discipline, and only its most determined and passionate practitioners make headlines - and history.

"Like all the best science popularisers, Brooks reawakens us to the astonishing fact of our mere existence, the strangeness of the world around us, and the astonishing amount that science has yet to discover"
- Sunday Times

"Brooks is an exemplary science writer"
- William Leith, Daily Telegraph

Michael Brooks holds a PhD in quantum physics and is a consultant to New Scientist magazine. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, Independent, Observer, and THES. He has lectured widely at universities and science and literary festivals and appeared on numerous BBC radio shows. He is the author of the bestselling 13 Things That Don't Make Sense (Profile). He lives in East Sussex.