Life's Greatest Secret is the story of the discovery & cracking of the genetic code This great scientific breakthrough has had far-reaching consequences for how we understand ourselves & our place in the natural world The code forms the most striking proof of Darwin's hypothesis that all organisms are related holds tremendous promise for improving human well-being & has transformed the way we think about life Matthew Cobb interweaves science biography & anecdote in a book that mixes remarkable insights theoretical dead-ends & ingenious experiments with the pace of a thriller He describes cooperation & competition among some of the twentieth century's most outstanding & eccentric minds moves between biology physics & chemistry & shows the part played by computing & cybernetics The story spans the globe from Cambridge MA to Cambridge UK New York to Paris London to Moscow It is both thrilling science & a fascinating story about how science is done