For decades Hoyle's slightly cherubic face and crisp waves of hair graced many an article in the popular press and science fiction novel jacket. His was the Voice of the Astronomer to the public, and the pioneer in the steady-state theory of cosmology to the professional, but behind the facade he was subject to the same controversies and squabbles endured by any other run-of-the-mill academic. Gregory (science and technology studies, University College, London) keeps both the public and the private in mind as she describes the career and family life of Hoyle, his studies and the dedication they inspired in him to conduct a life in science, his confrontations with Ryle and Caltech, his publication of masses of work and his activism on behalf of his more reticent colleagues for funding and recognition for their work, his move to Cambridge and eventual resignation, his contributions to debates over the proper winners of Nobel Prizes, his sojourns in other disciplines and ideas, and his legacy. Gregory supplies a number of interesting photographs and a concise list of references.