Crystal Clear. The Autobiographies of Sir Lawrence & Lady Bragg. Edited by A. M. Glazer and Patience Thomson. Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. xx + 427. Hardback. Price GBP 35.00. ISBN 978-0-19-874430-6.

This book celebrates 100 years since the Nobel Prize was awarded to Sir William Lawrence Bragg (WLB) and his father Sir William Henry Bragg (WHB): the first of a long list (at least 25) of Nobel Prizes earned by scientists exploiting Max von Laue’s discovery of X-ray diffraction by crystals in 1912. The prize awarded to the Braggs also established two other records: the youngest Nobel laureate in science and the only case of father and son joint Nobel laureates. I would also like to underline that in those years crystals were for the second time the protagonist of a revolution in solid-state science: the first time was the discovery of double refraction in calcite (E. Bartholinus, 1669, and C. Huygens, 1690), an event that triggered the understanding and exploitation of the anisotropic properties of matter. The book is an original product of Mike Glazer’s longstanding interest in the Braggs, in particular in the younger one, whom he first met as a teenager and later as a PhD student of Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, a former student of WHB. Glazer contacted the heirs of the two Nobel laureates and, among other important documents, obtained the unknown autobiographies, now published. Obviously, Patience Thomson, the younger daughter of WLB, is an exceptional co-editor for the autobiographies of her parents. Following an 11-page-long foreword by Mike Glazer, the book develops through three chapters: Meet Mother and Father (by Patience Thomson), where the younger daughter of WLB briefly reports her earliest memories when she was still living with her parents; in William Lawrence Bragg (In His Own Words) WLB goes through his life from his youth in Australia to the professorship at Cavendish Laboratory, stopping at 1951, shortly before his move to the Royal Institution (1954); finally, in Alice Grace Jenny Bragg ‘The Half Was Not Told’ Lady Bragg writes about her life up to the passing away of WLB in 1971. The book is illustrated by several valuable sketches drawn by a talented WLB, a hobby accompanying and complementing his interest in birdwatching and, more generally, offering a competent observation of nature. In the long list of his visits to universities and laboratories all around the world, WLB always managed to save a few days to explore the countryside, possibly together with his wife with whom he shared a deep love of nature. In comparison to the autobiographies of other famous scientists, that of WLB is to some extent disappointing, at least for those interested in tracing the development of the scientific ideas and achievements of the author. In fact, whereas Max von Laue – to quote a scientist in the field of X-ray crystallography – in his autobiography gives little space to private life but covers in depth the basis for his revolutionary experiment, WLB dedicates about 50% of his autobiography to his family, including the periodic holidays and related hobbies. The scientific aspects and duties of his rich career are reported, but often without going into the background and the details that would be useful for the reader to gain a better understanding of his scientific work. Even less is dedicated to comments on people with whom he had contact, from students and co-workers, up to famous scientists. However, by comparing the husband’s and wife’s autobiographies some new light can be shed on at least three controversial aspects of WLB’s scientific career: his role in solving the first crystal structures, an achievement that earned him and his father the joint ISSN 2053-2733