BookHigh SchoolScientist

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

James D. Watson

Why we picked it

Equal parts memoir and detective story, Watson chronicles the competitive race to discover DNA's structure — one of the most important scientific breakthroughs in history.

Our review

Equal parts memoir and scientific detective story, Watson chronicles the race to crack DNA’s structure. Teens see how curiosity, rivalry, and collaboration power real-world research. An epilogue and study guide in modern editions address Rosalind Franklin’s pivotal role—perfect for discussions on ethics in science. A must-read for future biologists and medical students.

Careers it connects to

Career pages on ImagineMyFuture that list this resource.

ScientistResearch scientists collaborate, compete, and build on each other's work to make discoveries, and Watson's account shows teens the real human dynamics behind groundbreaking laboratory research.

About this book

From the product listing

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 Criticism, which begins with "A Review of the Reviews" by Gunther Stent, other scientists and scholars reveal their own experiences 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 André Lwoff; as well as three letters to the editor of Science by Max F. Perutz, M. H. F. Wilkins, and James D. Watson.

Resource details

Resource type: Book
Age ranges: High School
Careers: Scientist
Good for kids who are: Realistic; Based on its careers · What is RIASEC?
Author: James D. Watson

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