THE DOUBLE HELIX: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRUCTURE OF DNA (First UK edition - first impression - with a loosely inserted period newspaper cutting from the original day of publication)

James D. Watson

ISBN 10: 0297760424 / ISBN 13: 9780297760429

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

About this Item

First impression of the first UK edition, published in 1968. 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. Boards clean and unmarked. Tail of spine slightly creased. Corners sharp. Top edge of page block stained red by the publisher - now faded and lightly foxed. There is a slight forward reading lean to the binding, and a light vertical reading crease to the spine (as is often found with this book). Internally also very good, with a period ownership inscription at the top of the front free endpaper. There is also some tape offsetting marks on front and rear endpapers (caused by the dustwrapper being protected with a cover by a previous owner - now replaced). The interior pages are clean, without any foxing. Also, no creases or tears. With a loosely inserted period newspaper cutting from the original day of publication. ***In a very good printed dustwrapper, which has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of 35s net. The dustwrapper is complete, with just some light edge wear and creasing, mainly to the top and tail of the spine. There is very little of the surface loss which is usually found to the edges of the dustwrapper. No chips. No significant chips or tears. Spine of dustwrapper unfaded. Back panel nice and clean even though a white background. Slight shadow of tape offsetting to the inner flaps. ***222mm x150mm. 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) ***First impression of the first UK edition. The book was surprisingly successful for a science book and was soon reprinted, and first impressions are hard to come by now in decent collectable condition. ***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 # 9327

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE DOUBLE HELIX: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRUCTURE OF DNA (First UK edition - first impression - with a loosely inserted period newspaper cutting from the original day of publication)
• 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
• Printing: First Impression
• 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.