Starting from very humble beginnings, Sydney Brenner gradually emerged as one of the most distinguished scientists of the 20th century, honored with the Nobel Prize in 2002.

His research work spans the entire range of biology, from decoding the genetic code to establishing the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism in developmental biology.

In this particularly vivid account, Brenner records the small and significant milestones that marked his scientific life, from the early awkward experiments in the little room behind his father's shoe shop to his election as Director of the Medical Research Council's Molecular Biology Laboratory in Cambridge, England, and beyond.

This book crafts the exciting and simultaneously human portrait of a great figure in modern biology.