From butcher's daughter in Communist Hungary to winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2023, this is the story of one woman's extraordinary determination through decades of obscurity and rejection - and her breakthrough discovery that saved millions of lives.

'Riveting. A true story of a brilliant biochemist who never gave up or gave in' BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry

'Anyone who has ever doubted that science, innovation and persistence can change the world should read this book' BILL GATES

Katalin Karikó began life as a butcher’s daughter in post-war Communist Hungary: a hand-to-mouth existence in a single-room house of clay and straw with no running water. Breaking Through is her extraordinary memoir of how she achieved her dream of becoming a scientist, first in Hungary and then in the USA, and pursued her belief – despite so many telling her not to – that an elusive molecule could transform our ability to prevent disease.

For three decades she worked in obscurity, battling cockroaches in a windowless lab, enduring demotion, the derision of her colleagues, even threats of deportation. But in 2020, Karikó’s vision was spectacularly vindicated when her work made possible the mRNA vaccines that brought an end to the pandemic, paving the way for similar vaccines against cancer, HIV, malaria and other life-threatening diseases.

As frank, wise and fearless as Karikó herself, Breaking Through is a remarkable story of tenacity, friendship and loyalty, and one woman’s unshakeable commitment to her values.

'Few have overcome adversity like Katalin Karikó . . . This remarkable memoir . . . is a joy to read' Financial Times

*An Amazon Best Book of the Year* *One of Nature's five best science books for 2024* *An FT Best Summer Book of 2024*

"Riveting . . . few have overcome adversity like Katalin Karikó . . . This remarkable memoir . . . is a joy to read, written in a direct style that revels in personal details while explaining clearly the science behind Karikó’s research" - Financial Times

"This engrossing, touching tale of the tribulations of a scientist now recognised as one of the world’s greatest biochemists, a woman who helped create the vaccines that saved millions during the Covid-19 pandemic . . . How this success affected Karikó is explained in one of the most moving moments in Breaking Through . . . a vividly written, absorbing memoir of a life filled with triumphs . . . over near-constant adversity" - Guardian

"A classic in the genre of underdogs succeeding against the odds" - New Scientist

"Little did the public know that this feat [a Covid vaccine] was largely down to one woman's relentless perseverance. Breaking Through . . . charts the painstaking journey she undertook as a woman and an immigrant to convince the scientific community to take her work seriously . . . rich with colourful metaphors that bring the immune system to life . . . Karikó also lays bare a startling truth: even life-saving scientific discovery is not immune to ego, favouritism and sexism" - New Statesman

"The rousing story of a remarkable woman and her lifesaving contributions to medicine" - Publishers Weekly

"An outstanding memoir with a happy ending" - Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Describes her vital, sometimes moving, personal and scientific struggle for success" - Nature, Five of the Best Science Books for 2024

"It is almost impossible not to feel moved by this story of an extraordinarily resilient woman’s lonely, defiant crusade – a crusade with such significant repercussions for humanity… Her memoir is not only a vital contribution to the history of the Covid pandemic, but also a salutary tale for science in general" - Times Literary Supplement

"Karikó’s remarkable journey from childhood in a politically suspect butcher’s family on the plains of postwar Hungary to winning a Nobel Prize for medicine last year is a joy to read" - Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2024*