Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Ignorant" genius : double helix -- Pushed by personal tragedy : lifesavers -- Overcoming handicaps : MRI -- Spirit of competition : structure of proteins -- Valuing a steady job : sequencing biopolymers -- Saving time and labor : combinatorial chemistry -- Proving herself : measuring hormones in blood -- Stubbornness : "impossible" matter -- Risking reputation : conducting polymers -- Reluctant environmentalist : saving the ozone layer -- Mental exercise : polymerase chain reaction -- Doing what nature did not : "noble" compounds -- To save humankind : nuclear chain reaction -- Creating under pressure : thermonuclear explosion -- Joy of understanding : Big Bang -- Lessons, but no recipes. Uncovers a singular personality characteristic, motivational factor, or circumstance that, in addition to their extraordinary drive and curiosity, led fifteen eminent scientists to achieve some of the most notable discoveries of the twentieth century.