`Portrait of a difficult genius as a young man' might be an alternative title for this biography of Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for physics. He discovered the quark, but this book is not overwhelmed by the science behind the man. Rather it lets us see the humanity in Gell-Mann and in his scientific contribution. It also describes the notions, vanity and in-fighting amongst the greatest minds of the last century as they struggled to describe the physical world. Johnson takes us along, giving wonderful insights into this rarefied and unfamiliar landscape.
"Garibaldi in his carriage (on a visit to London in 1864), accompanied by the Duke of Sutherland and his self-invited companions, made his way to Stafford House by way of Wandsworth Road, Westminster Bridge, Parliament Street and Trafalgar Square. The crowds were so thick that the horses were often prevented from proceeding, and the three-mile journey took six hours. The crowds pressed against the carriage doors on both sides, and when finally the carriage reached Stafford House, and Garibaldi and his fellow-travellers alighted, the carriage fell in pieces; the sides had been lifted from their hinges by the pressure of the crowds, but held in position by the people pressing against the carriage."
From Garibaldi, by Jasper Ridley
