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

The Double Helix : A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA review:
4 stars (A joint thought model of special value to children and young adults ) - It has been mentioned by reviewers that Dr. R Franklin's contribution goes unappreciated. Of course she had died of cancer when Watson and Crick et. al. received the Nobel Prize; otherwise she would have been included, as she deserved. That aside, the principal value of young people's reading this book, aside from a passing familiarity with a key discovery of modern times, is the way Watson and Crick interacted to get to the truth. Each would attack the arguments of the other- not in the tricky sort of way one associates with TV lawyers, but pointing out the limits of the other's arguments and contradictions with established principles of chemistry and physics. It is somewhat akin to Talmudic argument. It has a good deal owed to the logic of Aristotle and the thought process

of thesis, antithesis, synthesis repeated over and over developed by Hegal. The book provides enough insight to be of value without such technical detail that would take it out of the range of an average reader.
5 stars (Science and Personalities) - Comments can be directed to respectfulempiricist.com



This is a marvelous little book that brings out impressions of the many great and not so great minds involved in the ultimate understanding of what DNA looks like and how it multiplies. As the title implies, Watson is describing his own subjective mental picture of the people and events that led up to his and Francis Crick's ultimate Nobel winning discovery, a discovery that has stood the test of time.



Watson describes the personalities of the many people involved directly or otherwise. Though he uses kind words, it is apparent that different people and different times grated on him. He also describes his travels, academic frailties and personal loneliness. The latter while thinly veiled, was mentioned throughout the book.



Though there was description throughout the memoir, it was not burdensome to the non scientist. I used a dictionary about five times and had my much more scientific daughter explain some things to me. While there is academic jargon it was not burdensome. I was able to read the book in nearly one setting as it was written for the layman to spend a little time inside the thinking and personality of a true genius and a humble one at that.



Those of us who did not study science when it was convenient but rue it today, can read this book and learn something about the history of one of the finest events in scientific discovery.


1 stars (Scientific ethics?) - Although, his candor is refreshing, his lack of ethics is pretty disappointing in someone of such great gifts. More depressing is how the scientific community, caught up in the moment, did not stop to really look at where the data came from and in Nature magazine's case, actually collaborated to hide the truth about "Rosie's" true contributions to Watson and Crick's success. They would not have won the race if not for her meticulous scientific research and one hundred hours spent developing the photo that led to Watson's aha! moment. Even if Franklin had been a man, the ethical lapse displayed by a Watson who looked down on being "nice" is damning to the basic character of the man and not good science. Because science relies on collaboration and the abilty to share ideas without fear of intellectual theft and worse, this kind of libeling of the dead that he performs throughout the book on Franklin. Perhaps his character assasination was the result of a guilty conscience.