The Double Helix
A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
Ratings11
Average rating3.7
15
A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
Ratings11
Average rating3.7
From back cover of 1968 ed. "This is a book by a scientist about scientists - and the inside story of one of the key discoveries of the century, the structure of DNA, the heredity molecule. Even more fascinating, perhaps, it is the superbly human tale of how a very unusual 23-year-old American saw his chance for scientific immortality and promptly set out to seize it"
Reviews with the most likes.
Watson's racial politics aside, and taking into account that Watson did not give any credit to Rosalind Franklin, who was at least as important to the “discovery “ process as either Watson himself or his (male) colleague Francis Crick, this is a useful - if partial - book for understanding one aspect of 20th century genetic science. Subsequent developments and writing about these development in the realm of genetics and genomics help to frame this work and point up Watson's limitations and his misdirected race and gender biases. It's a relatively quick read, although given Watsons' recent ill-conceived statements about race-based intelligence and other wrongheaded ideas, you may want to hold your nose while digesting.
Incidentally, the stars-based rating system is totally unhelpful for a book like this. I hate the racist vitriol Watson spews and his blatant sexism, but the book itself is helpful as a starting point for learning about DNA. 3 stars seems like a difficult thing to sign in the circumstances, and I understand the objections for those who disagree. I think reading this as a companion to Brenda Maddox's “Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA,” and/or Rachel Ignotofsky's “Women in Science: 50 Pioneers who Changed the World” can help to ease the strain and broaden one's understanding of what discover actually looks like in science, and who is involved.
