THE DOUBLE HELIX: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRUCTURE OF DNA (First UK edition - third impression)

James D. Watson

ISBN 10: 0297760424 / ISBN 13: 9780297760429

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 5 Winsley Street, London W1, 1968

About this Item

Third impression of the first UK edition, published in July 1968. The book was first published in the UK in May 1968, and reprinted in June and July - indicating that the book had made quite an impact for a science book. Dustwrapper designed by Dorothy Judd. With 19 half-tone illustrations and 11 diagrams. ***Very good in bright mauve cloth-covered boards with gilt titles and striking DNA spiral design to the spine. The gilt is still beautifully bright, having been protected by the dustwrapper. Head and tail of spine slightly creased. Corners sharp. Light vertical reading crease to the spine. Boards nice and clean and unmarked. Top edge stained mauve by the publisher - lightly faded and slightly foxed. Internally also very good with a neat contemporary gift inscription at the top of the front free endpaper. Pages clean. There is a slight forward lean to the book. Spine tight. ***In a very good printed dustwrapper that has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of 35s net. The dustwrapper is complete, but has some edge wear and creasing, mainly to the top and tail of the spine. There is a 2cm closed tear to the top edge of the back panel of the dustwrapper. Whilst there is some surface loss to the edges of the top and tail of the spine and corner tips of the foldovers, there is no actual loss, just small nicks at the edges. Spine of dustwrapper unfaded. Back panel nice and clean even though a white background. ***222 mm x150 mm. 315 pages - with a Foreword by Sir Lawrence Bragg. ***'The classic personal account of Watson and Crick's groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA. By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty four, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. ***'In 1962 the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology was awarded to Francis H. C. Crick, James D. Watson, and Maurice H. F. Wilkins, the three men who almost a decade earlier had worked together, merging data from chemistry, physics, and biology, to solve the structure of DNA--Crick and Watson on the building of a hypothetical model that would conform in all its parts to what Wilkins' X-ray pictures had already shown of the molecule. The interplay of ideas, temperaments, and circumstances was an especially fortuitous one, since the result was something that, in Watson's words, was too pretty not to be true: the double helix.' [Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper] ***Third impression of the first UK edition. The book was surprisingly successful for a science book and was soon reprinted. A nice original format reading copy. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 8276x

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE DOUBLE HELIX: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRUCTURE OF DNA (First UK edition - third impression)
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 5 Winsley Street, London W1
• Publication Date: 1968
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297760424
• ISBN 13: 9780297760429
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Dorothy Judd (Jacket design)
• Edition: First UK Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • First Editions
  • Science

About this title

Synopsis

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

Review

Peter B. Medewar

"The New York Review of Books"

An enormous success...a classic.

Philip Morrison

"Life"

Lively, wholly brash, full of sharp and sudden opinion, often at the edge of scandal.

Richard Feynman

He has described admirably how it feels to have that frightening and beautiful experience of making a scientific discovery.

Andre Lwoff

"Scientific American"

The history of a scientific endeavor, a true detective story that leaves the reader breathless from beginning to end.

Robert K. Merton

"The New York Times Book Review"

A fascinating case history...Describes the events that led up to one of the great biological discoveries of our time.

Jacob Bronowski

"The Nation"

No one could miss the excitement in this story of a great and beautiful discovery....The book communicates the spirit of science as no formal account has ever done....the sense of the future, the high spirits, and the rivalry and the guesses right and wrong, the surge of imagination and the test of fact.

Peter B. Medewar"The New York Review of Books"An enormous success...a classic.

Philip Morrison"Life"Lively, wholly brash, full of sharp and sudden opinion, often at the edge of scandal.

Richard FeynmanHe has described admirably how it feels to have that frightening and beautiful experience of making a scientific discovery.

Andre Lwoff"Scientific American"The history of a scientific endeavor, a true detective story that leaves the reader breathless from beginning to end.

Robert K. Merton"The New York Times Book Review"A fascinating case history...Describes the events that led up to one of the great biological discoveries of our time.

Jacob Bronowski"The Nation"No one could miss the excitement in this story of a great and beautiful discovery....The book communicates the spirit of science as no formal account has ever done....the sense of the future, the high spirits, and the rivalry and the guesses right and wrong, the surge of imagination and the test of fact.

Robert K. Merton "The New York Times Book Review" A fascinating case history...Describes the events that led up to one of the great biological discoveries of our time.

Peter B. Medewar "The New York Review of Books" An enormous success...a classic.

Jacob Bronowski "The Nation" No one could miss the excitement in this story of a great and beautiful discovery....The book communicates the spirit of science as no formal account has ever done....the sense of the future, the high spirits, and the rivalry and the guesses right and wrong, the surge of imagination and the test of fact.

Andre Lwoff "Scientific American" The history of a scientific endeavor, a true detective story that leaves the reader breathless from beginning to end.

Richard Feynman He has described admirably how it feels to have that frightening and beautiful experience of making a scientific discovery.

Philip Morrison "Life" Lively, wholly brash, full of sharp and sudden opinion, often at the edge of scandal.

Robert K. Merton The New York Times Book Review A fascinating case history...Describes the events that led up to one of the great biological discoveries of our time.

Jacob Bronowski The Nation No one could miss the excitement in this story of a great and beautiful discovery....The book communicates the spirit of science as no formal account has ever done....the sense of the future, the high spirits, and the rivalry and the guesses right and wrong, the surge of imagination and the test of fact.

Peter B. Medewar The New York Review of Books An enormous success...a classic.

Andre Lwoff Scientific American The history of a scientific endeavor, a true detective story that leaves the reader breathless from beginning to end.

Philip Morrison Life Lively, wholly brash, full of sharp and sudden opinion, often at the edge of scandal.