Rosalind Franklin

Review also includes:

Dian Fossey, Liz Gogerly, 978-0750240079

Two women pioneers are the newest recruits to a biographical series on scientists. Rosalind Franklin’s story is a remarkable one and deserves retelling, for her work on the structure of DNA went without recognition in her lifetime. And yet it was as a result of her research papers – passed on without her knowledge – that Crick and Watson were able to build the correct model of the DNA molecule. The fact that she was a woman working in a largely all-male establishment undoubtedly contributed to this omission, but Franklin herself seemed largely unperturbed by it and as a scientist was delighted that something exciting had been discovered. Tragically she died of cancer at the early age of 37. Four years later Crick, Watson and Wilkins, her erstwhile colleague, were awarded the Nobel Prize. Dian Fossey’s story is more widely known, largely as a result of her book and the subsequent film Gorillas in the Mist. She too died before her work was complete, brutally murdered in her camp in Rwanda, possibly by poachers. Her work in studying mountain gorillas has made an important contribution to our understanding of the behaviour, language and family structure of our closest primate relatives and the need to protect their environment. Both books are punctuated with extracts from letters and first-hand quotes which, together with generous use of photos, help paint accessible portraits of two significant contributors to modern science.