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The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the…
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The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (original 1969; edition 2001)

by James D. Watson Ph. D. (Author)

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3,006434,517 (3.79)93
A 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 DNA. Not the most easy-to-understand book that I've read because you would need a background in chemistry to understand what's going on. Even Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was easier to comprehend. However you can definitely relate to the urgency and competitiveness between the scientists as they race to determine the structure of DNA, the basic building block of life. ( )
  pramodghuge | May 21, 2020 |
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I was barely an adult when I read this memoir, believed it was history but now see it as memoir, one side of a complex story, though interesting. ( )
  mykl-s | Aug 4, 2023 |
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 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. ( )
1 vote labfs39 | Jan 19, 2023 |
A surprisingly easy read. The chapters are short and the writing style is breezy. It's a very personal account of James Watson's experiences studying overseas and his efforts, along with others, to discover the structure of DNA. It's surprising to find out how many other scientists at the time downplayed the importance of DNA. There is some detailed chemistry included in the book, much of which went over my head, but you can get the general gist of what was happening without having to understand the details. Since most of the book describes Watson's experiences and the race to be the first to discover the secret of DNA, higher level understanding of chemistry isn't necessary to enjoy the book. The book is very much Watson's personal viewpoint, and not a more general overview of the discovery. ( )
  atozgrl | Jan 16, 2023 |
Witty and interesting account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. ( )
  jvgravy | Apr 14, 2021 |
One of the greatest scientists of all time (co-discoverer of the form of DNA, as well as subsequent contributions) provides his personal account of the process of discovery. This isn't really a historical account, told by a neutral third party and "objectively" true, but one person's viewpoint, shortly after the discovery (and supported by contemporary notes and artifacts) of his process. What's shocking (even though I know it is near-universal) is just how serendipitous the discovery was, and how critical seemingly meaningless personal and administrative decisions were to the process.

Another interesting aspect was the "friendly" state of the (then fallen from importance) UK scientific culture. He contrasts it to the then-recent Manhattan Project and physics of the time, where the true top-tier science was happening, with all artificial impediments forced to the side -- this was instead a field where not stepping on a colleague's toes who had done previous work but wouldn't take it to completion was a serious concern (and in the end, only a US research group run by Linus Pauling put fire underneath them to complete it; without Pauling it's possible DNA wouldn't have been fully characterized for another decade). ( )
  octal | Jan 1, 2021 |
Wonderful 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" starring Jeff Goldblum, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Juliet Stephenson as some of the principals, that does a pretty creditable job of presenting the story. Would love to see this remastered. The version I found online was free but about VHS quality. ( )
  tgraettinger | Aug 18, 2020 |
A 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 DNA. Not the most easy-to-understand book that I've read because you would need a background in chemistry to understand what's going on. Even Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was easier to comprehend. However you can definitely relate to the urgency and competitiveness between the scientists as they race to determine the structure of DNA, the basic building block of life. ( )
  pramodghuge | May 21, 2020 |
Watson's book has been criticized in many ways, but the biographical process that lead to his discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is nothing short of remarkable. This is a must have for the science library. ( )
  atufft | Jul 16, 2019 |
I read this book in part because I remember my mother reading it in 1968 for her book club. I remember her trying to explain it's importance to me. It made a big impression. It is well written with real human interjections and humor. It is surprisingly understandable and remains an important scientific achievement during our time. ( )
  DonaldPowell | Feb 5, 2019 |
Dull, drab, un-interesting ! ( )
  artvandley | Sep 30, 2018 |
Excellent book. Reads like a novel. Highly recommended.
  nittnut | Aug 30, 2018 |
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 favor, there were quite a few interesting photos and diagrams. ( )
  ajlewis2 | Feb 24, 2016 |
Ridiculously exciting. A peak into the life of Cambridge as it was. Inspiring! ( )
  jculkin | Feb 1, 2016 |
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 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. ( )
1 vote ambrose_rex | Feb 10, 2015 |
What a delightful surprise after all of my other dry, technical class assignments. ( )
  AliceAnna | Oct 19, 2014 |
Not at all what I expected and oddly enjoyable but also gossipy and catty and very sexist. The science was in many ways a very small part of the story, mostly it was where they drank and personalities they clashed with and politics of getting science done in small labs and how much he found Rosy Franklin objectionable because she wouldn't pretty herself up. Still, I found myself liking it.
  amyem58 | Jul 3, 2014 |
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 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. ( )
  nosajeel | Jun 21, 2014 |
I read this as a teenager, and loved it then! In addition to the science, it tells a lot about the culture of scientific research and the personalities of the scientists.
  MartyBriggs | Jun 11, 2014 |
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 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. ( )
  NielsenGW | Dec 3, 2013 |
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, fast paced and result driven. Great book, will read it again. ( )
  elviomedeiros | Jan 4, 2013 |
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 the time, The Double Helix presented a fascinating and candid look at the work which led up to this amazing discover.

Read more here... ( )
  DoingDewey | Nov 6, 2012 |
A frank, humourous biography that captures the excitement of discovery, the arrogance of youth and the rivalry between researchers ( )
  denmoir | Jan 3, 2012 |
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 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. ( )
  jasonlf | Sep 28, 2011 |
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 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. ( )
  jwhenderson | Jul 16, 2011 |
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 involved. A wonderful introduction to the personal and rather unscientific side of science.
  atychonievich | Apr 12, 2010 |
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