James D. Watson´s The Double Helix Literary Review

The Double Helix was written by James D. Watson. James Dewey Watson was born on April 6th, 1928, in Chicago Illinois. He was a precocious student, and entered the University of Chicago when he was only 15. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in zoology four years later, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in the same subject at Indiana University. Watson Joined Francis Crick at Cambridge in 1951, in an attempt to determine the chemical structure of living matter. They continued their work until February 28, 1954 when they made a historic discovery. They had determined the structure of DNA. In June they published their findings in the British science journal Nature. In acknowledgment, Francis Crick and James Watson shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. The discovery of the structure of the molecule deoxyribonucleic acid led James Watson to write the personal account of how the structure of DNA was discovered. He wrote the book to give people an honest, accurate account that would include the bad along with the good aspects of how science is done and to give people a sense of how competitive it is in the world of science.

The general theme of The Double Helix is the nature of scientific discovery. The theme shows that the scientific enterprise is a messy and cutthroat business with bitter rivalries. It shows that it is an exhilarating race against world-class researchers to solve science’s great mysteries and present new information about them.

The Double Helix has had many effects on the field of science. It produced trailblazing insights into the genetic code and protein synthesis. It created the Human Genome Project. It gave rise to modern molecular biology and revolutionized biochemistry. It spawned th...

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...This event in the book is when Watson and Crick have finally discovered the structure of DNA and are showing everyone their final product. James asks his sister to type up their nine hundred word manuscript, which she did, and then they sent it to Nature to be published. This event is notable because Watson and Crick have finally discovered the structure of DNA and they sent it to Nature who will publish it and show the world the discovery of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid.

I liked this book because it challenged my reading skills. It is really informative and I enjoyed learning about the challenges the pair had to face in order to finally discover the structure of DNA. I also enjoyed learning about how competitive it is in the science industry. In conclusion, this book was a very good read that introduced me to a new genre of book that has won my interest.