Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science

Scientists have colluded in the most successful cover-up of modern times. They present themselves as cool, logical, and levelheaded, relying exclusively on facts and passionless interpretations of painstakingly researched results. But the truth is scientists will do anything--take drugs, follow mystical visions, lie, and even cheat--to make a discovery. In Free Radicals, physicist and journalist Michael Brooks seamlessly weaves together true stories of the "mad, bad and dangerous" (The Times) men and women who have revolutionized the scientific world into a fast-paced and thrilling exploration of the real process behind discovery. Brooks also traces the cover-up back to its source: the scientific establishment's reaction to the public fear of science after World War II. He argues that it its high time for science to come clean about just how bold and daring scientists really are.