La doppia elica (1968)

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). ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )