The Double Helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA

A critical edition of James D. Watson's account of he and Francis Crick's 1953 discovery of the DNA double helix, including reviews by Gunther Stent and other scientists and scholars.

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LibraryThing member Devil_llama

James Watson's love letter to himself, as he explains to us exactly how he single-handedly solved the structure of DNA, with the insignificant help of a cast of baboons, clowns, and women. Watson's small book is interesting as a historical piece, though it is necessary to take at least some of it

with a grain of salt, and read other viewpoints, because his is strongly skewed toward the hero of his work...himself. The insights into this man of not insignificant talent is enlightening, and disheartening, as we see an unpleasant facet that sometimes accompanies genius and accomplishment: the inability to recognize that there were others who were crucial to your success. The book paints a very clear picture of a truly ugly person, who was only one of the geniuses involved, but is unable to recognize that fact.

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LibraryThing member daizylee

Very interesting if you know your chemistry. If you don't you may not know all the background. Watson fudges quite a few details, either intentionally or not, to give less credit to other scientists. Still, a fascinating and lively look into the lab.

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