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Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Signet (1969), Paperback
Description
Since its publication in 1968, The Double Helix has given countless readers a rare and exciting look at one highly significant piece of scientific research-Watson and Crick's race to discover the molecular structure of DNA.
User reviews
LibraryThing member klarusu
This is the account of the discovery of the structure of DNA, penned by one of the main protagonists in this history-making tale. It is an account from his perspective only, and is perfused by the arrogance and self-confidence that I believe was integral in James Watson's ability to perservere and
Whilst he is not a writer, Watson's text is quite readable and far less stilted than many accounts by scientists. His personality comes through with avengeance and the reader is left with an overwhelming sense of Watson's confidence in his own superiority. I was amazed at how his questing mind skipped from research topic to research topic, whatever inspired him, from major issues to minutiae in the work of others that set his mind working on a tangent. You are left in no doubt that Watson viewed himself as an ideas man, the scientific graft necessary to make things work something he relegates to lesser scientists, in his words 'minor minds'. Condescension oozes from every page. I'll leave it to you to decide whether this combination of phrenetic bursts of activity and the ability to see the wider picture, sets a genius apart; or whether you see Watson as a scientist who built his reputation on the backs of those who have the diligence and patience to work at an idea and amass the data necessary to prove or disprove an hypothesis, swooping in at the endgame to steal the glory. I would suggest that great discoveries require both components in equal measure. One thing shines through for me, that discovery is not solely genius at work but a meeting between genius, luck and hard work.
Attitudes towards women at that time seem appallingly dated, but in the context of its historical setting, this account certainly shows that it was endemic in the academic world rather than purely James Watson's personal view. Not least in this is the diabolical treatment that Rosalind Franklin received, revealing of attitudes at that time in the academic community. In an odd addendum at the rear of the book, Watson tries to ameliorate this, although whether from personal or public necessity, we shall never know. For me it was too little, too late, too far to the back of the book - that in itself shows that he ranked her treatment as something less important than the discovery he himself was a part of making. His attitude towards women throughout the book is one that screams 'lesser class citizen'; they are there to amuse him, to date but never in a serious level as intellectual equals. Even in his description of Rosalind Franklin, he mentally corrects her physical appearance before giving cursory attention to her ideas. His superior attitude to his sister and her choice of partner is, quite frankly, nauseating in the extreme. At all times, it is Maurice Wilkins' feelings that he tries to spare, Franklin's not being worth consideration. Even his acknowledgement of Franklin in the addendum seems to count her as an exception to the rule of womanhood!
He certainly comes across as harsh, arrogant and lacking in scruples. His fierce efforts to beat Pauling to the finish-line raised the question in my mind of whether you can be a great scientist without being self-serving and competitive - I like to think so. It moves the reader to ask what is more important, the discovery being made or being the one to make it. Something I think often gets blurred in academia today. If this account shows anything, it is that scientific discovery is a combination of the dogged hard work of many and moments of inspiration, often from outside the problem - it may be both impossible and undesirable to disentangle the two.
The book, albeit from a singular perspective, is a great study and record of the interaction between a cast of strong characters. It is an invaluable window onto one aspect of the scientific process and a character study of a single great mind of our time. I would recommend it. Don't expect to like Watson, but appreciate his achievement.
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make, along with Frances Crick and the other scientists involved, this earth shatteringly important scientific breakthrough. It is a picture of a man clearly rooted in the academic cliques and prejudices of the time, an invaluable record of a pivotal moment in our scientific history and a flashback to a time when academic science was firmly rooted in the field of thought and ideas, less polluted with the commercial world that now governs much of the research carried out in the scientific community.Whilst he is not a writer, Watson's text is quite readable and far less stilted than many accounts by scientists. His personality comes through with avengeance and the reader is left with an overwhelming sense of Watson's confidence in his own superiority. I was amazed at how his questing mind skipped from research topic to research topic, whatever inspired him, from major issues to minutiae in the work of others that set his mind working on a tangent. You are left in no doubt that Watson viewed himself as an ideas man, the scientific graft necessary to make things work something he relegates to lesser scientists, in his words 'minor minds'. Condescension oozes from every page. I'll leave it to you to decide whether this combination of phrenetic bursts of activity and the ability to see the wider picture, sets a genius apart; or whether you see Watson as a scientist who built his reputation on the backs of those who have the diligence and patience to work at an idea and amass the data necessary to prove or disprove an hypothesis, swooping in at the endgame to steal the glory. I would suggest that great discoveries require both components in equal measure. One thing shines through for me, that discovery is not solely genius at work but a meeting between genius, luck and hard work.
Attitudes towards women at that time seem appallingly dated, but in the context of its historical setting, this account certainly shows that it was endemic in the academic world rather than purely James Watson's personal view. Not least in this is the diabolical treatment that Rosalind Franklin received, revealing of attitudes at that time in the academic community. In an odd addendum at the rear of the book, Watson tries to ameliorate this, although whether from personal or public necessity, we shall never know. For me it was too little, too late, too far to the back of the book - that in itself shows that he ranked her treatment as something less important than the discovery he himself was a part of making. His attitude towards women throughout the book is one that screams 'lesser class citizen'; they are there to amuse him, to date but never in a serious level as intellectual equals. Even in his description of Rosalind Franklin, he mentally corrects her physical appearance before giving cursory attention to her ideas. His superior attitude to his sister and her choice of partner is, quite frankly, nauseating in the extreme. At all times, it is Maurice Wilkins' feelings that he tries to spare, Franklin's not being worth consideration. Even his acknowledgement of Franklin in the addendum seems to count her as an exception to the rule of womanhood!
He certainly comes across as harsh, arrogant and lacking in scruples. His fierce efforts to beat Pauling to the finish-line raised the question in my mind of whether you can be a great scientist without being self-serving and competitive - I like to think so. It moves the reader to ask what is more important, the discovery being made or being the one to make it. Something I think often gets blurred in academia today. If this account shows anything, it is that scientific discovery is a combination of the dogged hard work of many and moments of inspiration, often from outside the problem - it may be both impossible and undesirable to disentangle the two.
The book, albeit from a singular perspective, is a great study and record of the interaction between a cast of strong characters. It is an invaluable window onto one aspect of the scientific process and a character study of a single great mind of our time. I would recommend it. Don't expect to like Watson, but appreciate his achievement.
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LibraryThing member bexaplex
I always begin this book in a rage about Watson's fame-seeking hubris and unsavory comments about people whom he should have regarded as colleagues ("The thought could not be avoided that the best home for a feminist was in another person's lab" p. 21). But I always end with an apology, reading
Like all good memoirs, there's a meta-narrative here that extends the story past the individuals involved. Yes, Watson tells the story of theorizing the structure of DNA. But he also tells the story of his maturity as a scientist: finding his feet in biochemistry, benefiting from the dialog in the scientific community, learning to trust the expertise of others, and pairing experimental results with elegant theory.
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Watson's epilogue ("Rosalind's exemplary courage and integrity were apparent to all..." p.143). He plays up his youthfulness, but it's still a serious book despite all his efforts.Like all good memoirs, there's a meta-narrative here that extends the story past the individuals involved. Yes, Watson tells the story of theorizing the structure of DNA. But he also tells the story of his maturity as a scientist: finding his feet in biochemistry, benefiting from the dialog in the scientific community, learning to trust the expertise of others, and pairing experimental results with elegant theory.
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LibraryThing member dr_zirk
This is the sort of book that should be required reading in high school chemistry classes. Not because it's a detailed scientific text, but rather because it acutely captures the adventure of science, and presents just enough high-level technical information to whet the reader's appetite for
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learning more. While the book is full of Watson's personal prejudices, and some of those have not weathered so well after forty years of feminism, there is no denying that this is a powerful account of an important journey through the world of big-stakes science, and the type of story that reveals the intellects, the egos, and the considerable hard work that goes into achieving scientific greatness - if chemistry had been taught this way when I was younger, I might not have concluded that it was a discipline fit only for dullards! Show Less
LibraryThing member lquilter
This book is almost the sine qua non of why personal memoir is not history. The Double Helix is an essential document in understanding Jim Watson -- but considerably less helpful in understanding the real story of how DNA was discovered. Watson's account of the discovery of DNA is twisted by his
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sincere sexism and self-aggrandizing nature. Crick had long since acknowledged Franklin's role, and that her (basically uncredited) data was critical to their paper. Show Less
LibraryThing member trinityofone
Watson’s retelling of his and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA. Really a story about academic infighting, which Watson recounts with enough humor to make it quite amusing. The science stuff is really mostly beyond me, but the book is enjoyable if, like I said above, you’re
One curious thing about this book is the treatment of Rosalind Franklin, one of the rival scientists at King’s. In telling the story as it happened, Watson depicts Franklin in an often not-so-favorable light, as for a long time he did not like her, but at the end he goes out of the way to credit her and say how much he came to like her later. This seems reasonable within the context of the narrative, yet some of the reading I did afterward suggests that there is further controversy about Watson and Crick’s use of Franklin’s results, etc. I’d be curious to read a book about Franklin and see what perspectives it has to offer.
But, controversy aside, this is a great example of science as an adventure story, and I quite enjoyed it.
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interested in how human thought processes work, and in the social foibles of very smart people. I loved Watson’s opening description of Crick: "I have never seen Francis Crick in a modest mood…It has nothing to do with his present fame. Already he is much talked about…but that was not true [in] the fall of 1951…At that time he was thirty-five, yet almost totally unknown. Although some of his closest colleagues realized the value of his quick, penetrating mind and frequently sought his advice, he was often not appreciated, and most people thought he talked too much." Heh.One curious thing about this book is the treatment of Rosalind Franklin, one of the rival scientists at King’s. In telling the story as it happened, Watson depicts Franklin in an often not-so-favorable light, as for a long time he did not like her, but at the end he goes out of the way to credit her and say how much he came to like her later. This seems reasonable within the context of the narrative, yet some of the reading I did afterward suggests that there is further controversy about Watson and Crick’s use of Franklin’s results, etc. I’d be curious to read a book about Franklin and see what perspectives it has to offer.
But, controversy aside, this is a great example of science as an adventure story, and I quite enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member jlelliott
I remember upon first reading The Double Helix I was delighted with the fact that Watson was a slacker and still managed to make one of the most important discoveries in biology. There was hope for me too! It is a pleasure to read a book about scientific discovery where the researchers are not
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mercilessly driven type-A personalities confined to their labs. A well-written account of the personalities and community behind a major scientific discovery, of the molding of disparate facts into a new theory that changed the field. Show Less
LibraryThing member ambrose_rex
I enjoyed this little book and found it had a quick, springy pace following the path of the author, Watson, and his friend Crick as they bounced around seeking greatness before 'unravelling the helical structure of the DNA molecule'. Their treatment of and theft from Rosalind Franklin is told as
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they saw it then, swiping what they needed from a grump. The epilogue grants her a bit more grace. However between the lines Rosalind stands out as the true researcher deserving of the Nobel prize they also stole along with her research. Show Less
LibraryThing member parelle
There's something amazingly amusing about this. It's like walking into a half-finished conversation, and finding - at least some of the the truth - behind the history. Truth, being, of course, subjected to the absolute crazy nature of Jim Watson.
LibraryThing member crazyjerseygirl
A bit of 'scientific' fluff that makes molecular genetics look like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Poor Dr. Franklin would be rolling in her grave.
LibraryThing member labfs39
James D. Watson was 24 years old when he and Francis Crick published their paper announcing the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953. Nine years later they would be awarded the Nobel Prize, along with Maurice Wilkins. This memoir is Watson's account of his life and work in 1951-53.
I have
Watson was a newly minted PhD student when he was sent to Copenhagen to learn chemistry. Having no interest in this, he ends up at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University. There he meets Francis Crick, and the two begin talking about genes. They want to work on the structure of DNA, but that area of study is already staked-out by Maurice Wilkins and his junior colleague Rosalind Wilkins of Kings College, and it was considered impolite to barge in on someone else's work. Watson and Crick are ambitious and eager to prove themselves, however. They decide to attack the problem using models, and after obtaining Franklin's x-ray crystallography data through an unofficial source, begin to make progress.
One of the things that surprised me when reading this memoir was the extent to which Watson and Crick were building on the ideas of others. Without Franklin's data and her insistence that the background of the structure had to be on the outside, rather than the inside; her measurement of water within DNA; and her discovery of A and B forms of DNA, Watson and Crick would have been up a creek. I was also surprised at how close other scientists were in making the discovery. Watson writes that he thinks Linus Pauling at Cal-Tech would have beaten them to it within a week. Certainly Pauling's discovery of the alpha helix and use of models heavily influenced Watson and Crick's own thinking.
As expected, Watson is harsh in his treatment of Rosalind Franklin. He faults her for not wearing lipstick and caring about her appearance, for her unfriendly demeanor, and for her sloppy science. In his epilogue, he offers an explanation, if not apology, for his initial impressions as represented in the book:
Since my initial impressions of her were often wrong, I want to say something here about her achievements...(he lists several that I mentioned above)...By then (late 50s) all traces of our early bickering were forgotten, and we both came to appreciate greatly her personal honesty and generosity, realizing years too late the struggles that the intelligent woman faces to be accepted by a scientific world which often regards women as mere diversions from serious thinking...
Overall, I found the book interesting as a personal look inside a 1950s lab and a colorful, if not always fair, description of the scientists working on the puzzle of DNA.
I have
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attempted to re-create my first impressions of the relevant events and personalities rather than present an assessment which takes into account the many facts I have learned since the structure was found. Although the latter approach might be more objective, it would fail to convey the spirit of an adventure characterized both by youthful arrogance and by the belief that the truth, once found, would be simple as well as pretty. Thus many of the comments may seem one-sided and unfair, but this is often the case in the incomplete and hurried way in which human beings frequently decide to like or dislike a new idea or acquaintance. In any event, this account represents the way I saw things then, in 1951-1953: the ideas, the people, and myself.Watson was a newly minted PhD student when he was sent to Copenhagen to learn chemistry. Having no interest in this, he ends up at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University. There he meets Francis Crick, and the two begin talking about genes. They want to work on the structure of DNA, but that area of study is already staked-out by Maurice Wilkins and his junior colleague Rosalind Wilkins of Kings College, and it was considered impolite to barge in on someone else's work. Watson and Crick are ambitious and eager to prove themselves, however. They decide to attack the problem using models, and after obtaining Franklin's x-ray crystallography data through an unofficial source, begin to make progress.
One of the things that surprised me when reading this memoir was the extent to which Watson and Crick were building on the ideas of others. Without Franklin's data and her insistence that the background of the structure had to be on the outside, rather than the inside; her measurement of water within DNA; and her discovery of A and B forms of DNA, Watson and Crick would have been up a creek. I was also surprised at how close other scientists were in making the discovery. Watson writes that he thinks Linus Pauling at Cal-Tech would have beaten them to it within a week. Certainly Pauling's discovery of the alpha helix and use of models heavily influenced Watson and Crick's own thinking.
As expected, Watson is harsh in his treatment of Rosalind Franklin. He faults her for not wearing lipstick and caring about her appearance, for her unfriendly demeanor, and for her sloppy science. In his epilogue, he offers an explanation, if not apology, for his initial impressions as represented in the book:
Since my initial impressions of her were often wrong, I want to say something here about her achievements...(he lists several that I mentioned above)...By then (late 50s) all traces of our early bickering were forgotten, and we both came to appreciate greatly her personal honesty and generosity, realizing years too late the struggles that the intelligent woman faces to be accepted by a scientific world which often regards women as mere diversions from serious thinking...
Overall, I found the book interesting as a personal look inside a 1950s lab and a colorful, if not always fair, description of the scientists working on the puzzle of DNA.
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
I cannot believe that I had not read this before. I had been carrying around my father's copy for twenty-five years but only just read it. It is a fascinating, exciting and sometimes even funny account of the race to unravel the structure of DNA. It is unflinchingly honest in describing not only
The Double Helix is at the opposite extreme of Einstein's book Relativity which presents the pure science, derived from first principles, and explained to the lay reader. Instead in The Double Helix, the extensive descriptions of the science are all subsurvient to moving the story of the discovery forward. None of these scientific discsussions are derived from first principles or includes any explanation for the reader (and I, for one, started the book with no knowledge of x-ray crystallography or stereoscopic chemistry and only pieced together a dim understanding of them over the course of the book). And there is virtually no discussion of the implications of the discovery, what followed, or really much in the way of context. But it is hard to hold any of that against The Double Helix, especially when many, many other books have handled all of those topics, while this book uniquely and superlatively describes the process of discovery itself.
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the thrill of scientific discovery but also the more ordinary impulses including scientific rivlaries and everything from the desire to win the Nobel Prize to the desire to win over girls. It is also a great account of collaboration, not only with Francis Crick but also with Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, and Linus Pauling -- in the case of the later three the collaboration was mixed with a fervent desire that they not beat Watson and Crick to the discovery of the strucure of DNA. Finally, it is also an excellent detective story as Watson and Crick follow fragmenatory and contradictory evidence along several false leads but eventually stumble on the extremely elegant answer.The Double Helix is at the opposite extreme of Einstein's book Relativity which presents the pure science, derived from first principles, and explained to the lay reader. Instead in The Double Helix, the extensive descriptions of the science are all subsurvient to moving the story of the discovery forward. None of these scientific discsussions are derived from first principles or includes any explanation for the reader (and I, for one, started the book with no knowledge of x-ray crystallography or stereoscopic chemistry and only pieced together a dim understanding of them over the course of the book). And there is virtually no discussion of the implications of the discovery, what followed, or really much in the way of context. But it is hard to hold any of that against The Double Helix, especially when many, many other books have handled all of those topics, while this book uniquely and superlatively describes the process of discovery itself.
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LibraryThing member Smiley
Exciting scientific discovery well, and personally, told. Fine account of how science really happens, day to day.
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
This is a memoir of a Nobel prize-winning Scientist that reads like a cross between a personal autobiography and a detective story. Add the insights into the imagination of one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century and you have a unique book. I read the book with wonder, delight and
The book describes a different time, the 1950s, when the "Red scare" was predominant in the United States and Europe (not without reason) to the detriment of the free exchange of scientific ideas (again Linus Pauling is a prominent example in his sufferings at the hand of the United States government). But more importantly it describes the collaboration of two colleagues (James Watson and Francis Crick) with very different personal styles of scientific endeavor in their pursuit of the goal of identifying the essential nature of DNA. This includes giving credit to those who provided helpful details that made their discovery possible. Written with a lucid style that put this reader at ease this is one of the best memoirs of any kind that I have read. While there are a number of scientific details and references, they are not terribly difficult to digest and I would particularly recommend this memoir to readers who might otherwise shy away from scientific tomes - Watson makes scientific endeavor the most interesting if not exciting thing in the world.
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puzzlement alternatively as I encountered different aspects of the life of James Watson. He is unafraid to compliment his colleagues and competitors yet is also uncompromising in his criticism of those scientists (Linus Pauling, for example) who are either on the wrong track or just wrong-headed in their ideas or both. I was impressed with his methods which involved serious study combined with leisure activities, tennis being a favorite, that did not seem to detract from his scientific thinking and probably helped his imagination achieve more than it might otherwise have. The book describes a different time, the 1950s, when the "Red scare" was predominant in the United States and Europe (not without reason) to the detriment of the free exchange of scientific ideas (again Linus Pauling is a prominent example in his sufferings at the hand of the United States government). But more importantly it describes the collaboration of two colleagues (James Watson and Francis Crick) with very different personal styles of scientific endeavor in their pursuit of the goal of identifying the essential nature of DNA. This includes giving credit to those who provided helpful details that made their discovery possible. Written with a lucid style that put this reader at ease this is one of the best memoirs of any kind that I have read. While there are a number of scientific details and references, they are not terribly difficult to digest and I would particularly recommend this memoir to readers who might otherwise shy away from scientific tomes - Watson makes scientific endeavor the most interesting if not exciting thing in the world.
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LibraryThing member chrisadami
A fascinating first-person account of the discovery of DNA's structure.
A great read, and several no-holds-barred assessments of some of the characters that played a role.
A great read, and several no-holds-barred assessments of some of the characters that played a role.
LibraryThing member atychonievich
An enjoyable and easy read. It is well suited to for everyone whether you have any scientific knowledge and background or not. Remember to take Watson's interpretations of things with a grain of salt, he definitely puts his own, somewhat arrogant spin on what happened and the other personalities
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involved. A wonderful introduction to the personal and rather unscientific side of science. Show Less
LibraryThing member BenjaminHahn
A riveting account of the race for DNA. Not too heavy on the jargon but it still served as a good chemistry review on amino acids, sugars, and phosphates. The best part of this book is just how blunt Watson is in describing the human factors at play in this academic setting. He pulls no punches on
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his peers, nor apparently on himself for that matter, and it gives the story a sense of authenticity I wasn't expecting. One charge against Watson that is fair is his obvious male chauvinism or at least sexist attitude which comes across clearly in his writings. Not that this should be celebrated but for some reason I found this as just another clear sign that Watson was totally being himself when he wrote this account. For what its worth, there is a bit of an apology in the appendix that addresses this. I wish I would have known that he was 25 years old at the beginning of the book. I didn't pick up on this until the last page, and this fact impressed me greatly. Furthermore, knowing his age would have prevented me from always cringing every time he inserted a paragraph about "the young girls" he was always maneuvering to be around. Regardless of hormones, to achieve such a discovery at such a young age is remarkable, as is the way it is told in this excellent scientific memoir. Show Less
LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
I'm studying cell biology at university. At least half of my study deals with DNA, so I thought this book would be an interesting read. I know that the author is still causing controversy to this day, as he recently had a book tour cancelled because of comments he made, and I would have had the
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opportunity of attending one of his talks otherwise. This book is amusing though, and offers little for his critics to get their hands on apart from some mild sexism and honest opinions. If you are thinking about going into a career in science then this book might be a good encouragement, it'll possibly change your mind if you're not that interested. I enjoyed reading it, it is written from the point of view of the author, and he does state that clearly, and that the book contains his frank opinions of others, and this all makes for good reading. He has written other books more recently, which I will look into getting, to see a bit more into the mind of the co discover of the secret of life. I would recommend this book to those working in the field, though most will have probably read it, to those with a passing interest I would recommend it too, as it is humorously written and not science heavy. Show Less
LibraryThing member kendrak
An interesting read, but I came out of disliking Watson. He seemed something of a dilettante.
LibraryThing member elviomedeiros
When I started reading this book I though the author obnoxious and unethical, probing around other peoples research and intruding in research fields that weren’t his specialty. By the end of the book I realized that it narrates about a time that sets what was going to be modern science: dynamic,
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fast paced and result driven. Great book, will read it again. Show Less
LibraryThing member DoingDewey
Science sometimes includes a surprising amount of personal drama and just playing around with models until they fit the facts. This account of the discovery of the structure of DNA, by one of the key participants Dr. James D. Watson, includes a lot of both. Written as though from his perspective at
For the non-scientist, this book is an important reminder that scientists are human too. For the scientist, this book is an important reminder that scientists are human too. It’s just nice to know that at times even the great scientists struggled with their choice of research topic or felt a little adrift too. It also makes for a great read, very casual and easy to follow with lots of drama and personality clashes. The science included is pretty minimal and is explained well with helpful pictures, so I think this would be a pretty easy read even for people with no science background.
The casualness is occasionally a downside, as people are referred to by their first or last name at random and there’s no cast list. Despite that small flaw, I would still say the relaxed writing style is strongest point of the book. Watson’s surprising openness about everyone’s feelings for each other and his ability to convey the rush he and Crick were in to finish the structure made this a very engaging book. It was pretty cool to feel like you were actually there during the race to discover the structure of DNA.
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the time, The Double Helix presented a fascinating and candid look at the work which led up to this amazing discover.For the non-scientist, this book is an important reminder that scientists are human too. For the scientist, this book is an important reminder that scientists are human too. It’s just nice to know that at times even the great scientists struggled with their choice of research topic or felt a little adrift too. It also makes for a great read, very casual and easy to follow with lots of drama and personality clashes. The science included is pretty minimal and is explained well with helpful pictures, so I think this would be a pretty easy read even for people with no science background.
The casualness is occasionally a downside, as people are referred to by their first or last name at random and there’s no cast list. Despite that small flaw, I would still say the relaxed writing style is strongest point of the book. Watson’s surprising openness about everyone’s feelings for each other and his ability to convey the rush he and Crick were in to finish the structure made this a very engaging book. It was pretty cool to feel like you were actually there during the race to discover the structure of DNA.
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LibraryThing member ajlewis2
I read about a third of it. I found the story wandered and wasn't clear. His treatment of Rosalind Franklin sounded like something written in the 1950s. It was at that point that I decided the book wasn't really worth the effort I was putting in to sort through the verbiage for the story. In its
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favor, there were quite a few interesting photos and diagrams. Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
Before 1952, no knew what DNA looked like. Isolated chemically in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher, no one had been able to come up with its definitive structure. But a single X-ray diffraction image taken by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling in May 1952 changed all that. Known as Photo 51, it gave
One thing to note about this book is that the original text was written in 1968, six years after Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for their work on nucleic acids, and ten years after Rosalind Franklin died. It is written from the perspective whose beliefs in science are wild and enthusiastic and whose attitudes towards women and society were stuck in the 1940s. Writing a first-hand account of a scientific discovery may seem vainglorious, but it does give some insight into the scientific process and how information from different sources can be used to further new research. While there are some who agree that Franklin should have received more acclaim, all the work that came from the King’s College lab in London have furthered science in ways not even Watson could not have foreseen. One would do well to pair this book with something a little more objective to get a better sense of the history of the discovery. Other than that, it was still a fun read.
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James Watson and Francis Crick insight into how the molecule was arranged. Watson’s The Double Helix gives his perspective on the research, discovery, publication, and aftermath of the discovery that some would define as the greatest of the 20th century. One thing to note about this book is that the original text was written in 1968, six years after Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for their work on nucleic acids, and ten years after Rosalind Franklin died. It is written from the perspective whose beliefs in science are wild and enthusiastic and whose attitudes towards women and society were stuck in the 1940s. Writing a first-hand account of a scientific discovery may seem vainglorious, but it does give some insight into the scientific process and how information from different sources can be used to further new research. While there are some who agree that Franklin should have received more acclaim, all the work that came from the King’s College lab in London have furthered science in ways not even Watson could not have foreseen. One would do well to pair this book with something a little more objective to get a better sense of the history of the discovery. Other than that, it was still a fun read.
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LibraryThing member denmoir
A frank, humourous biography that captures the excitement of discovery, the arrogance of youth and the rivalry between researchers
LibraryThing member nosajeel
I cannot believe that I had not read this before. I had been carrying around my father's copy for twenty-five years but only just read it. It is a fascinating, exciting and sometimes even funny account of the race to unravel the structure of DNA. It is unflinchingly honest in describing not only
The Double Helix is at the opposite extreme of Einstein's book Relativity which presents the pure science, derived from first principles, and explained to the lay reader. Instead in The Double Helix, the extensive descriptions of the science are all subsurvient to moving the story of the discovery forward. None of these scientific discsussions are derived from first principles or includes any explanation for the reader (and I, for one, started the book with no knowledge of x-ray crystallography or stereoscopic chemistry and only pieced together a dim understanding of them over the course of the book). And there is virtually no discussion of the implications of the discovery, what followed, or really much in the way of context. But it is hard to hold any of that against The Double Helix, especially when many, many other books have handled all of those topics, while this book uniquely and superlatively describes the process of discovery itself.
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the thrill of scientific discovery but also the more ordinary impulses including scientific rivlaries and everything from the desire to win the Nobel Prize to the desire to win over girls. It is also a great account of collaboration, not only with Francis Crick but also with Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, and Linus Pauling -- in the case of the later three the collaboration was mixed with a fervent desire that they not beat Watson and Crick to the discovery of the strucure of DNA. Finally, it is also an excellent detective story as Watson and Crick follow fragmenatory and contradictory evidence along several false leads but eventually stumble on the extremely elegant answer.The Double Helix is at the opposite extreme of Einstein's book Relativity which presents the pure science, derived from first principles, and explained to the lay reader. Instead in The Double Helix, the extensive descriptions of the science are all subsurvient to moving the story of the discovery forward. None of these scientific discsussions are derived from first principles or includes any explanation for the reader (and I, for one, started the book with no knowledge of x-ray crystallography or stereoscopic chemistry and only pieced together a dim understanding of them over the course of the book). And there is virtually no discussion of the implications of the discovery, what followed, or really much in the way of context. But it is hard to hold any of that against The Double Helix, especially when many, many other books have handled all of those topics, while this book uniquely and superlatively describes the process of discovery itself.
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LibraryThing member AliceAnna
What a delightful surprise after all of my other dry, technical class assignments.
Subjects
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — 1969)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1968)
Notable Books List (1968)
ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound (Non-fiction — 1999)
Guardian 100 Greatest Non-Fiction (Science)
Original publication date
1968-02-17
1969
Physical description
7 inches
ISBN
0451037707 / 9780451037701
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