The Life Project

The remarkable story of a unique series of studies that have touched the lives of almost everyone in Britain today.In a cold March in 1946, the birth of every child born one week was recorded. It was the start of an extraordinary project- the longest-running study of human development in the world. It would change the way we are born, schooled, parent and die, irrevocably transforming our understanding of why our lives take the course they do. This is the story of an unparalleled endeavour, its incredible legacy and the scientific heroes who have fought to keep it alive. They are one of Britain's best-kept secrets.

“Fascinating”

An elegant mix of science and human drama, The Life Project was - by a considerable measure in my view - the best science book published this year -- Robin McKie, Best Science Books of 2016 Observer
An elegant mix of science and human drama, The Life Project was - by a considerable measure in my view - the best science book published this year -- Robin McKie, Best Science Books of 2016 Observer
Eye-opening book, extraordinary insights into ordinary lives ... Part scientific narrative and part postwar social history, along with some fantastically cut-throat academic politics ... A very British success story -- Isabel Berwick Financial Times
, shocking, heartening ... The greatest scientific experiment in modern British history -- Dominic Sandbrook Daily Mail
Highly enjoyable ... Reading this book has reminded me of how much we owe to birth cohorts and their participants ... Delightful -- Kate Pickett author of The Spirit Level
A spellbinding account of the UK's pioneering cohort studies ... [A] cogent, persuasive book -- Robin McKie Observer
Intriguing ... [A] fine, detailed book -- Jenni Russell, 'Must Reads' Sunday Times
-- Alice Jones Independent
The Life Project is in many ways a very British story ... Absorbing ... A tribute to Helen Pearson's skill as a writer -- Keith Kahn-Harris Independent
Hugely engaging, and gives much to chew on ... the scientists are an irresistibly eccentric, passionate bunch -- Nick Curtis Evening Standard
A highly readable, deeply informative book ... If you ever wondered whether the circumstances of your early life steered you along a particular path, look no further than this book ... [Pearson] does a superb job of bringing [the cohort studies] to life ... -- Eric Kaufmann Literary Review
... A cogent exploration of Britain's groundbreaking birth-cohort studies ... The Life Project does a great service in bringing them and the people at their heart to life -- Andrew Steptoe Nature
Pearson has done a real service in explaining how wide-ranging these extraordinary and little-known studies have been -- Michael Prodger The Times
Persuasively argues ... the beauty and sheer vision of these longitudinal cohort studies Telegraph
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Helen Pearson is a science journalist and editor for the international science journal Nature. She has been writing for Nature since 2001 and her stories have won accolades including the 2010 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award and two best feature awards from the Association of British Science Writers. Based in London, she has a PhD in genetics and spent eight of her years with Nature in New York.

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