Free radicals, Michael Brooks

For more than a century, science has cultivated a sober public image for itself. But the truth is very different: many of our most successful scientists have more in common with libertines than librarians. This thrilling exploration of some of the greatest breakthroughs in science reveals the extreme lengths some scientists go to in order to make their theories public.

Inspiration can come from the most unorthodox of places: Nobel laureates sometimes get their ideas through drugs, dreams and hallucinations. Science is a highly competitive and ruthless discipline, and only its most determined and passionate practitioners make headlines - and history. That''s why 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.

In science, anything goes.