William C. Summers is professor emeritus of therapeutic radiology, molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and history of science and medicine and a lecturer in history at Yale University, where he taught for nearly fifty years. He lives in New Haven, CT.

“With style, wisdom, and unprecedented depth of understanding, William Summers explores the ‘phage group’ founded by Max Delbrück, and how it contributed to the establishment of molecular biology—arguably the most important development in the life sciences over the past century.”—Nicolas Rasmussen, author of Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the Rise of Biotech Enterprise“A historically and sociologically nuanced account of a discipline and a research school which played a pivotal role in the emergence of molecular biology, but whose ‘Founding Myth’ has been uncritically accepted for too long.”—James Strick, author of Wilhelm Reich, Biologist“In this deeply researched new book, Bill Summers skillfully introduces us to the host of characters who created the field of molecular biology, transforming our understanding of all living things.”—Bruce Alberts, coauthor of Molecular Biology of the Cell

William C. Summers is professor emeritus of therapeutic radiology, molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and history of science and medicine and a lecturer in history at Yale University, where he taught for nearly fifty years. He lives in New Haven, CT.

“With style, wisdom, and unprecedented depth of understanding, William Summers explores the ‘phage group’ founded by Max Delbrück, and how it contributed to the establishment of molecular biology—arguably the most important development in the life sciences over the past century.”—Nicolas Rasmussen, author of Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the Rise of Biotech Enterprise“A historically and sociologically nuanced account of a discipline and a research school which played a pivotal role in the emergence of molecular biology, but whose ‘Founding Myth’ has been uncritically accepted for too long.”—James Strick, author of Wilhelm Reich, Biologist“In this deeply researched new book, Bill Summers skillfully introduces us to the host of characters who created the field of molecular biology, transforming our understanding of all living things.”—Bruce Alberts, coauthor of Molecular Biology of the Cell

William C. Summers is professor emeritus of therapeutic radiology, molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and history of science and medicine and a lecturer in history at Yale University, where he taught for nearly fifty years. He lives in New Haven, CT.

“With style, wisdom, and unprecedented depth of understanding, William Summers explores the ‘phage group’ founded by Max Delbrück, and how it contributed to the establishment of molecular biology—arguably the most important development in the life sciences over the past century.”—Nicolas Rasmussen, author of Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the Rise of Biotech Enterprise“A historically and sociologically nuanced account of a discipline and a research school which played a pivotal role in the emergence of molecular biology, but whose ‘Founding Myth’ has been uncritically accepted for too long.”—James Strick, author of Wilhelm Reich, Biologist“In this deeply researched new book, Bill Summers skillfully introduces us to the host of characters who created the field of molecular biology, transforming our understanding of all living things.”—Bruce Alberts, coauthor of Molecular Biology of the Cell