Customer Reviews

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

+++++

In this book (first published in 1968), "Honest Jim" (as a scientist friend called him) or Dr. James Dewey Watson has explained his "version of how the structure of DNA was discovered" and "this account represents the way [he] saw things then, in [the fall of] 1951 [to the spring of] 1953." (The discovery was announced in April 1953.) That is, he has "attempted to re-create [his] first impressions of the relevant events and personalities" that he encountered along the way to making the discovery. Thus, understand this is not a book of historical facts.

Also, because of the personal nature of this book Watson states that "many of the comments [that he makes] may seem one-sided and unfair, but this is often the case in the incomplete and hurried way in which human beings decide to like or dislike a new idea or [a new] acquaintance."

This book revolves around five main people:

(1) Dr. Francis Crick (1916 to 2004) of the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England
(2) Dr. James Watson (born 1928) also of the Cavendish Laboratory
(3) Dr. Rosalind Franklin (1920 to 1958) of King's College, a division of the University of London
(4) Dr. Maurice Wilkins (1916 to 2004) also of King's College
(5) Dr. Linus Pauling (1901 to 1994) of the California Institute of Technology.

However, along the way the reader meets many other people, both scientists and non-scientists.

As Watson explains, the above five people are in a "race" to discover DNA's structure. However, I got the impression that neither Franklin nor Wilkins knew they were in a race. By the end of the race, Watson was "one of the winners" who shared the Nobel Prize in 1962 with Crick and Wilkins.

According to the official Nobel Prize internet site, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins won a shared Nobel Prize in physiology "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material."

This 29-chapter (with epilogue) book is a fast read (but only if you gloss over the science parts). As Watson proceeds in this story, you'll find that he is quite sociable and takes us to such places as pubs, restaurants, and "smashing" parties.

As you read this book, you'll find that there is considerable tension between Watson and Franklin (who was an expert in X-ray diffraction crystallography) as well as between Wilkins and Franklin.

For me, this book imparts four major things:

(1) THE THRILL OF DISCOVERY. That is, this book effectively conveys, especially in the latter chapters, the struggle to find the correct answer. With each chapter, the anticipation mounts toward the final climax: the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA.

(2) HOW SCIENCE IS DONE. For example, both Watson & Crick and Pauling used molecular models while Franklin & Wilkins used X-ray crystallography. However, all science is not done as it is conveyed in this book. As Watson states, "styles of scientific research vary almost as much as human personalities."

(3) THE QUESTION OF ETHICS IN SCIENCE. For example, Wilkins told Watson secretly that Franklin "had evidence for a new three-dimensional form of DNA." When Watson "asked what the pattern [of this new form] was like, [Wilkins] went into the adjacent room to pick up an [X-ray diffraction] print [or photograph] of [this] new form [called the 'B' form]" and showed it to Watson. This was done without Franklin's permission. It turns out that this X-ray photo was critical and "gave several...vital helical parameters."

(4) WATSON'S HONESTY. In all of this book, Franklin is portrayed as an unattractive, unapproachable, and angry person whose scientific work is questionable. However, in the book's epilogue Watson devotes the last two paragraphs to her and her achievements. He admits that "my initial impressions of her, both scientific and personal...were often wrong" and that she was a person of "personal honesty and generosity" as well as of "intelligence."

Two good features of this book are that it has photographs (a total of 19) and diagrams (a total of 11) throughout. My favorite photo is the one captioned "X-ray diffraction photograph of DNA, B form" taken by Franklin in late 1952. My favorite diagram is captioned "Schematic illustration of the double helix."

This book was written for a general audience so they could experience the thrill of this revolutionary discovery. Thus, I was surprised that it had no chapter table of contents (but the photos and diagrams each have one), no chapter headings, and no index. I feel these would have made the book more user friendly.

Also, I feel what was needed was a science glossary and name index/page. The former is needed because the reader encounters many scientific terms (especially those related to DNA) and thus a glossary would make the science more accessible to the general reader. The latter is needed because Watson encounters many people and a name index/page would have helped the reader keep track of these names. Besides Watson talked with other scientists to clarify ideas, and in a way they indirectly contributed to the discovery. Thus, a name index/page would have acknowledged their indirect contribution.

Finally, in the epilogue Watson states, "All of [the major] people [in this book], should they desire, can indicate events and details they remember differently." Thus, I recommend these books:

(1) "Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker" (2001). In this book, refer to the science article entitled "The Triple Helix" which describes the race to discover DNA's structure. Note Pauling's observations throughout the article.
(2) "Rosalind Franklin and DNA" (first published in 1975) by Anne Sayre. This book clears up Watson's misconceptions about Franklin who died in 1958.
(3) "The Third Man of the Double Helix" (2003) by Maurice Wilkins. Wilkins finally speaks out on what really happened from his perspective.

In conclusion, Dr. James Watson tells us honestly his version of how the structure of DNA was discovered. He effectively conveys the struggle to find the right answer and the thrill of discovery. Don't deny yourself from reading this exciting book but be sure to read the recommended books to get the full story.

*** 1/2

+++++

I read this book for the first time when i took undergraduate biochemistry in college. I could not put it down. Now, ten years later, i found it at a second-hand store and re-read it, and once again read it in two sittings. This book reads like a thriller. You definitively catch a sense of the urgency of their research. I was flipping pages nervously, like i didn't know Watson and Crick were the ones who won the race.

In the edition i have, Watson is very thankful about the contributions that Rosalind Franklin made to their discovery. He is crystal clear about how she was the one convinced that the backbone was on the outside, and had not he followed her advice, it would have taken him even longer to figure out the structure, and who knows?, Pauling might have gotten there first. In the epilogue, Watson is all praise about Rosalind, acknowledges how his opinions about her were often wrong, how excellent the quality of her work was, and ponders about the obstacles that she encountered in her career in science for being a woman.

I wonder if these comments were missing in other people's books, because according to their critiques, one comes out with the idea that Watson and the male-dominated scientific establishment gave Rosalind the cancer that killed her.

This is an excellent, honest account of an event that took place when the author was 25 years old. I could not believe my eyes when i read that sentence. Twenty-five, worrying about girls and tennis and the structure of the most important molecule in the universe. These facts might count for something. This is a must-read book, for everybody, whether you understand science or not.

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When "The Double Helix" came out in 1968, as a geneticist I naturally read it. And it has stuck far more firmly for me than any of the many other books I've read over the years about genetics.

Why do I remember this book so well? I've wondered. The answer is right in the first sentence of "The Double Helix" that reads: "I have never seen Francis Crick in a modest mood."

In his account of how the structure of DNA was discovered, Jim Watson doesn't try to tell the story from a disinterested point of view. This is my version, he says, and I'm not going to touch it up to cover the warts and other blemishes. Yes, for instance, Watson and Crick were patently and terribly unfair and unjust toward Rosalind Franklin but Jim doesn't deny it. He makes it plenty clear.

Most writing in and about science is well varnished. But varnish gives a gloss and it's not easy to hold onto. Jim Watson forgot the varnish, on purpose. Watson's brashness (and Crick's conceit) season this narrative in a memorable way, a way I can't easily forget, even if I wanted to.

This is first-rate personal science writing. Five stars, for sure, or more. It's about one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. I hope you'll enjoy (and remember) "The Double Helix" too.

The title of the book says it all - this is a "personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA." Told from the point of view of James Watson, who later shared the Nobel Prize with Crick and Wilkins for the discovery. Both Crick and Watson were theorists, who analysed other peoples' data (I've heard more than one biochemist say they "stole" it from Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin) and correctly deduced the double-helix structure of DNA.

The drama mostly centres on Cambridge and King's College, the universities where these scientists were studying/working at the time. Also figuring prominently in the story is Linus Pauling, winner of 2 Nobel Prizes (one in chemistry, the other for peace). He was hot on the trail and this competition that gives the narrative a driving energy. It's interesting that both he and the Watson/Crick combo both independently came up with a triple-helix structure with the backbone on the inside before W & C turned that idea inside out and put the backbone in the correct position, on the outside.

This brings us to the contribution of Rosalind Franklin. Her contribution to the discovery are significant - she first expounded the idea that the backbone must be on the outside, and her X-ray diffraction pictures led C & W to a helical structure. She did not win the Nobel Prize - the reason is not because she was female or difficult to work with, but because she passed away at 37, before the prize was awarded. Whether her gender or personality would have excluded her were she still alive is, of course, debatable.

What is most enjoyable about this book, however, is the personal style - Watson gives us an inside look at London, time spent in pubs, boring conferences, and his relationship with Watson, Bragg, and other famous scientists in London and elsewhere. This is the personal aspect, and he makes no qualms about telling unflattering stories about these people (and himself). These include run-ins with Franklin, Bragg, and his first postdoctoral advisor. Throw in a healthy dose of interdisciplinary squabbling (biologists vs. chemists vs. physicists) and you get an entertaining story of one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century.

Several previous reviewers of "The Double Helix" have, rightly it seems, upbraided Watson for his negative portrait of Rosalind Franklin and his downplaying of her contributions to his and Crick's elucidation of the structure of DNA. The new book by Meyer Friedman and Gerald Friedland, "Medicine's Ten Greatest Discoveries," of course contains a chapter on this achievement, interestingly entitled "Maurice Wilkins and DNA." It tells the story of Franklin's involvement with the DNA research and the political abuse to which she was treated during her fellowship at Kings College London--a post from which she was ultimately fired. It also shows how Franklin's conflict with Wilkins--and his with her--probably cost the two of them the first prize in the race for the discovery. It was a race which Watson & Crick won by a whisker.

This firsthand account of the discovery of DNA dispels a lot of the notions that ousiders have about how science really works. Watson's descriptions of the competition, politics, dead ends, personality clashes, mistakes, and eventually inspiration reveal that discovery is not as clear-cut a process as it sometimes might seem.

Watson is honest in his introduction that his account is just that, the story told through his own point of view, complete with possible faulty memories and personal prejudices. I was intrigued by the portrayals of the personalities of so many famous figures that I've been learning about for years in my biology and genetics classes - Francis Crick, of course, along with Maurice Wilikins, Rosalind Franklin, Linus Pauling, and many more. I was touched by Watson's admission at the end of the book that his unfavorable impressions of Rosalind Franklin stemmed from the fact that she was a woman trying to make a name for herself in the male-dominated world of scientific research in the 1950s.

There is quite a bit of biological jargon in this book, and though it could probably be read by someone without any knowledge of genetics, it will be appreciated more by readers with some background. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in genetics and science.

Double Helix is a worthy read. In a few hours of reading, one catches a fairly representative look into the scientific commmunity, though the eyes of one man. Some people critique this book as being one-sided. Of course it is! Watson admitted that up front. The book was written as an account his perceptions of the events and people involved with the discovery of the structure of DNA, not as a documentary. Like any human, Watson's perceptions of the events were scewed in his own favor. This, however, adds to the value of the book, rather than detracts. From my experience in the scientific community, the issues of ownership of ideas and work, plagarism, and politics are both real and complex. Double Helix does a good job of exemplifying these difficult issues.

The Double Helix was a one of the books on my high school biology teacher's reading list for the class. The name itself, The Double Helix, had shied me away from reading it; it sounds like some boring old book that will describe the structure of DNA in some very big and boring words. However, after finally reading the book, I completely changed my thoughts on this book. I found the novel to be an easy and exciting to read in an almost fictious hero-like story.
Watson's story is not just a mere account of the events that occurred, but it also contains many of his personal thoughts and views of the events. Watson's purpose for writing The Double Helix was to explain that scientific research was a combination of "the contradictory pulls of ambition and the sense of fair play." Watson involves the reader in the "race" of the DNA structure with Linus Pauling and in the underhanded use of Rosalind Franklin's X-ray data. I, like many others, was sucked into the thrill of Watson's first-hand account of this dishonest race. During many points in the course of the novel, I was anxiously waiting to turn the page to see what Watson or Crick might do next. As Sir Lawrence Bragg puts it in the foreword, "I do not know any other instance where one is able to share so intimately in the researcher's struggle and doubts and final triumph."
The Double Helix was not only a good read, but also it has reinvigorated my spirit in the field of research, especially the active field of genetics. My first year of college courses in chemistry and biology had began to turn me away from research in particular areas, for the courses just did not seem to interest me anymore. However, this book has provided me with a new avenue into the exciting world and life of scientific research; I am again looking forward to going into the genetic research field.
I observed a very interesting point in the book, which is that all the data and diagrams that were discussed throughout the novel are also taught in our chemistry classes; it is in this fact that I find science's beauty, that only 50 years ago this data was used to solve the structure of a totally unknown molecule/idea and is now taught in elementary chemistry classes.
The Double Helix is an exceptional novel that I recommend to all.

I read this book as a requirement for my undergraduate biology class, but I ended up enjoying it quite thoroughly. I think the depiction of Watson & Crick, as well as their adventure to discover the Double Helix as naturally assumed by pairs of DNA, was far more entertaining than one would assume coming from a "science" book. There are really three major points that make this an interesting read. (1)The unbelievable ease of reading in this book was unexpected. One would normally assume that a "science" book would be difficult to say the least but in fact the layout of the book was really reader friendly. (2)The race against another, more well-known scientist, in Linus Pauling to discover the structure of DNA, and (3) the teamwork approach to this discovery that Watson & Crick took. I was personally enthralled with the overall competition between the two different groups and how Watson, Crick, and Franklin came together to add to one purpose. It was very interesting to see all of them bring something different to the table in regards to their scientific specialties. Overall I thought the book was an excellent read but I was surprised to see the personality clashes with Watson and Franklin. I would recommend this work for anyone who has a creative want to learn more about the human side of science and DNA in general.

Many people undoubtedly never pick up this book because they think science is too boring or too complex to make for a true page-turner. How wrong they are! This is edge-of-your-seat fascinating. I doubt that Watson could write a super suspense novel, but he did something greater. In my humble opinion, he wrote one of the finest books of scientific achievement ever written. Pick up the book and read.