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

Since its publication in 1968, The Double Helix has given over a million readers a rare and exciting look at one highly significant piece of scientific research-Watson and Crick's race to discover the molecular structure of the gene. In this Norton Critical Edition, Watson's lively and irreverent account is placed in historical perspective by Gunther Stent's introduction and by retrospective views from two major figures in the adventure, Francis Crick and Linus Pauling, and by Rosalind Franklin's last student, Aaron Klug. Background materials include reproductions of the original scientific papers in which the double helical structure of DNA was first presented in 1953 and 1954. In the criticism section, which begins with "A Review of the Reviews" by Gunther Stent, other scientists and scholars reveal their own experience and views of Watson's story. There are reviews by Philip Morrison, F. X. S., Richard C. Lewontin, Mary Ellmann, Robert L. Sinsheimer, John Lear, Alex Comfort, Jacob Bronowski, Conrad H. Waddington, Robert K. Merton, Peter M. Medawar, and Andre Lwoff; and three letters to the editor of Science by Max F. Perutz, M. H. F. Wilkins, and James D. Watson.Watson, James D. is the author of 'Double Helix A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA', published 1980 under ISBN 9780393950755 and ISBN 0393950751.