The Double Helix by James D. Watson
"The Double Helix" by James D. Watson is a personal narrative detailing the groundbreaking work that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, a key element in understanding genetic inheritance. Published in 1968, this book recounts the collaborative efforts of Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and others during a crucial period from 1951 to 1953. Watson shares his perspective on the scientific and personal dynamics among these figures, including notable scientist Rosalind Franklin, while striving to portray events as he experienced them, often relying on his own recollections and correspondence.
The book is characterized by its informal tone and brevity, with chapters focused on specific episodes, making complex scientific ideas accessible to a general audience. As a work that blends memoir and scientific narrative, it significantly shaped public perception of scientists, revealing their human complexities beyond traditional stereotypes. While not considered a scholarly contribution, "The Double Helix" has sparked discussions on the social context of scientific discovery, influencing both public understanding and the genre of scientific writing. Its candid approach has inspired other scientists to share their experiences, making science more relatable and less enigmatic.
The Double Helix by James D. Watson
First published: 1968; illustrated
Type of work: Memoir/science
Time of work: 1951-1953
Locale: Great Britain
Principal Personages:
James D. Watson , a postdoctoral Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of CambridgeFrancis Crick , a graduate student at the Cavendish LaboratoryRosalind Franklin , andMaurice Wilkins , researchers at King’s College, University of LondonLinus Pauling , a distinguished chemist at the California Institute of Technology
Form and Content
The 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James D. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins for their contributions to the discovery of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the substance which is the source of genetic inheritance. The Double Helix (the title refers to the structure of the DNA molecule: a double helical chain) is Watson’s account, originally serialized in The Atlantic Monthly, of the efforts of the scientific community to solve the mystery of the DNA molecule. Although Watson supplies historical and personal background information, he concentrates on the period from the fall of 1951, when Watson, an American postdoctoral fellow, joined forces with Crick, an English doctoral candidate, at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, to April, 1953, when the two men published their theoretical model of the DNA molecule in Nature. The book focuses on the personal and scientific interactions among five scientists: Watson, Crick, Linus Pauling, Wilkins, and Wilkins’ colleague—but not collaborator—Rosalind Franklin.
The book is aptly described by its subtitle. All the events are presented through Watson’s eyes as either a participant or an observer. He is the sole interpreter, whether it be of the significance of a scientific paper or the motives or feelings of those with whom he interacts. In part he relied upon his own memory, in part upon letters written to his parents on a weekly basis, which he used to help him date events. In the preface he acknowledges that some of the other participants had different memories of specific events, but that in the cases of conflicting memories he has depended upon his own recollections. He has tried to recapture his thoughts and reactions during the years between 1951 and 1953, without having his account colored or biased by historical hindsight. Even where subsequent events demonstrated that his judgments at the time were utterly wrong, Watson rejected the temptation to modify his narrative so as to appear more insightful than he actually was. He eschewed direct quotations or the re-creation of dialogue, instead utilizing indirect quotations or the summation of conversations.
Critics have had some problem fitting this book into its proper genre. Some have classified it as a scientific autobiography, although scientific autobiographies are characteristically written by scientists at the conclusion of their careers to provide overviews. Scientific autobiographies have also been typically dull recitations of events and discoveries, occasionally enlightened by the refighting of ancient priority disputes. Its candor, relatively narrow time frame, and extremely young protagonist prevent The Double Helix from fitting comfortably into this genre. Others have suggested that The Double Helix should be classified as a scientific memoir, pointing to its similarity with memoirs of nonscientists in its refusal to excise material by considerations of good taste and its inclusion of the gossip and trivialities of the subject’s life.
Watson writes for a general audience without assuming any prior knowledge on the part of the reader of the scientific issues involved or how scientific discovery takes place. He supplies sufficient information about the nature of genetics research and its history to place the discovery of Crick and Watson in context. The tone is informal, even chatty. Adding to the feeling of informality is the brevity of the chapters, each of which usually deals with one particular episode. The front matter, the twenty-nine chapters, and an epilogue total only 226 pages in the original edition, or fewer than ten pages per chapter. Chapters are generally arranged in chronological order, but some episodes are presented in flashback or as background. Supporting Watson’s text are a number of contemporary photographs of the protagonists, diagrams illustrating essential chemical, physical, or biological facts, and a foreword by Sir Lawrence Bragg, the director of the Cavendish Laboratory at the time Watson and Crick made their discovery.
Critical Context
The Double Helix is neither a grand piece of literature nor an important contribution to scholarship in the history of science. It did, however, greatly change the way the work of scientists is perceived by the general public. For the first time, the public was provided with a candid picture of the scientific endeavor. Scientists were neither as dull nor as pure as the stereotypes had suggested.
Watson’s book appeared at the same time that the history of science was undergoing a major transformation. Scholars were turning away from the study of the history of scientific ideas to the study of the scientist in his or her cultural and social context. The techniques of sociology were being utilized increasingly. Many of the issues and questions raised by The Double Helix were those coming to the fore among historians of science, but Watson reached an audience much larger than that of the sociologists and historians.
Other scientists have followed Watson’s example with candid memoirs of their work. Journalists and historians have produced accounts of scientific discovery which attempt to provide immediacy and the sense of the excitement of being first. Whatever the factual inaccuracies of The Double Helix, whatever the biases and blind spots of the author, Watson has helped break down the barriers between the two cultures. After his book, science as an activity was no longer mysterious.
Bibliography
Bernstein, Jeremy. “A Sorrow and a Pity: Rosalind Franklin and the Double Helix,” in Experiencing Science, 1978.
Olby, Robert. The Path to the Double Helix, 1974.
Sayre, Anne. Rosalind Franklin and DNA, 1975.
Stent, Gunther S. “What They Are Saying About Honest Jim,” in The Quarterly Review of Biology. XLIII (June, 1968), pp. 179-184.
Yoxen, Edward. “Speaking Out About Competition: An Essay on The Double Helix as Popularisation,” in Expository Science: Forms and Functions of Popularisation, 1985. Edited by Terry Shinn and Richard Whitley.