The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNAThe classic personal account of Watson and Crick’s groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA, now with an introduction by Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind. By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science’s greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick’s desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. Never has a scientist been so truthful in capturing in words the flavor of his work. |
From inside the book
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Page 22
chemists encouraged me to learn organic chemistry , but after I used a bunsen
burner to warm up some benzene , I was relieved ... Journeying abroad initially
appeared the perfect solution to the complete lack of chemical facts in my head ,
a ...
chemists encouraged me to learn organic chemistry , but after I used a bunsen
burner to warm up some benzene , I was relieved ... Journeying abroad initially
appeared the perfect solution to the complete lack of chemical facts in my head ,
a ...
Page 23
Thus , knowing he could never bring himself to learn chemistry , Luria felt the
wisest course was to send me , his first serious student , to ... So working out
DNA's chemical structure might be the essential step in learning how genes
duplicated .
Thus , knowing he could never bring himself to learn chemistry , Luria felt the
wisest course was to send me , his first serious student , to ... So working out
DNA's chemical structure might be the essential step in learning how genes
duplicated .
Page 161
When Francis was amazed equally by Pauling's unorthodox chemistry , I began
to breathe slower . By then I knew we were ... The tone of the manuscript ,
however , argued against any such advance in chemical theory . No reason
existed to ...
When Francis was amazed equally by Pauling's unorthodox chemistry , I began
to breathe slower . By then I knew we were ... The tone of the manuscript ,
however , argued against any such advance in chemical theory . No reason
existed to ...
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - tgraettinger - LibraryThingWonderful account of the discovery of DNA. Had almost the feel of a detective novel. It's a very easy, quick read. If you can find it, there is a video, "The Race for the Double Helix" aka "Life Story ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - pramodghuge - LibraryThingA very personal account by the author James Watson on how he and his colleague Francis Crick with the help of others beat Linus Pauling to win the coveted Nobel prize for identifying the structure of ... Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
acid adenine answer argument arranged arrival asked atoms backbone base pairs bases became began biological bonds Bragg building Cambridge Cavendish chemical chemistry coiled coils College completely conversation Crick crystallographic cytosine Delbrück double helix English equal evidence existed experiments face fact final Francis gave genes genetic give given groups guanine hand held helical hope hydrogen idea immediately important interest John join King's knew later letter Linus London look lunch Maurice meeting mind molecules months Moreover morning moved Nature needed never obvious Pauling Pauling's Peter position possibility problem protein quickly realized reason remained Rosy saying scientific sense solve soon structure success sugar sure talk tell theory thinking thought tion told walked wanted week X-ray
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA |
| Author | James D. Watson |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Touchstone, 2001 |
| ISBN | 074321630X, 9780743216302 |
| Length | 256 pages |
| Subjects | › › Science / General Science / History Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics Science / Reference |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |