Science is no quiet life. Imagination, creativity, ambition, and conflict are as vital and abundant in science as in artistic endeavours. In this collection of essays, Nobel Laureate Max Perutz explores a remarkable range of scientific topics with the lucidity and precision that he brought to his pioneering work in protein chemistry. His book includes detective stories, tales of conflict and battle, one woman's love affair with crystals, a man's gruesome fascination with poison gas, the phantom perils that have been conquered by silent heroes. Perutz argues that science is a passionate exercise and that the pursuit of knowledge is a sortie into the unknown. The pages of this book are populated with some of the intellectual giants of twentieth century science - Pauling, Meitner, Medawar, Krebs, and Jacob, among others. In addition, Perutz's own life provides entertaining anecdotes, including his internment in the UK as an anemy alien, his involvement in a scheme to make ships of ice for refuelling aircraft in the North Atlantic during the War, and the sheer joy he took from his work. 'This....Is a wholly captivating book; it has warmth, wit, and style, and not a dull sentence. I urge you to read, enjoy, and learn.' Walter Gratzer, Nature