Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution - Hardcover

Mcelheny, Victor K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738203416 ISBN 13: 9780738203416

Publisher: Basic Books, 2003

Synopsis

From the discovery of the double helix to the imminent sequencing of the human genome, James Watson has been at dead center in this great biological revolution. Since the very morning after his Nobel Prize-winning discovery, he has continued to ride the scientific supernova that he and his collaborator, Francis Crick, detonated in 1953. Targeting the big questions, mobilizing the best talent, writing the textbook that defined molecular biology, energizing the "war on cancer," he has served as a prime mover of the DNA era.Now, a distinguished science reporter who has known him for decades and worked for him for four years, with unique access to the scientists who know Watson best, has written an unauthorized, non-reverential account of this extraordinary man. While Watson is probably the most influential scientist in the last half-century, he is also one of the most controversial. From the ruthless competition in the race to identify the structure of DNA, to clashes with ethicists over charged issues in genetics, to a chorus of Bronx cheers for his recent memoir, Watson has left a wake of detractors as well as fans. Until now, Watson has managed to keep control over his legend, fending off aspiring biographers with his own memoirs. Victor McElheny gets behind this invented persona, bringing us close to the relentless genius who triggered and sustained a revolution in science that affects us all.A Merloyd Lawrence Book

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Review

If you have ever had the notion that science is dull business, this book will change your mind. Hardly your stereotypical scientist in a white lab coat, James Watson in his prime was fiercely competitive, brash, and irreverent, and caused controversy wherever he went, simultaneously inspiring and exasperating his colleagues. His arrogance, lack of tact, and love of gossip were only overshadowed by his passion, drive, and genius, allowing him to attract the most brilliant thinkers (and generous funding) to his projects. On the cutting edge of molecular biology since the mid1950s, Watson, along with collaborator Francis Crick, won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for discovering the double-helix structure of DNA. In 1965 he wrote Molecular Biology of the Gene, his textbook on molecular biology, followed by his controversial and entertaining The Double Helix in 1968. An "intellectual manager" on a grand scale, he built Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory into one of the great biological centers of the world and was chosen in 1988 by the National Academy of Sciences to be the first director of the Human Genome Project.

Since Watson chose not to cooperate with Victor McElheny, neither he nor his family were interviewed for the book, but this does not detract from the work, since the author focuses strictly on Watson's professional life anyway. And McElheny is certainly qualified to do so: not only did he work with Watson for four years, he has also been a science reporter for over four decades. He bases his book on personal observations and on extensive interviews with nearly 50 scientists who have worked closely with Watson. McElheny details the past half-century of breakthroughs with considerable color and a wealth of revealing anecdotes. A self-declared optimist most interested in using science to "improve human life," Watson placed himself on the frontlines of the war on cancer in order to make the largest possible impact. In doing so, writes McElheny, he "may have influenced the thinking of biologists more than any other scientist during this half-century." A fascinating portrait of a remarkable man. --Shawn Carkonen

From the Back Cover

Praise for Watson and DNA:

"Jim Watson made the most important biological discovery of the 20th century. Then, with a quirky but unexpectedly effective leadership style, he overthrew the biology of a previous generation and used his position at Harvard to whip up a revolution in molecular biology. In a superb book, McElheny tells us how he did it, and why for the past 50 years young scientists have just wanted to be near Jim. Who among us wouldn't have wanted to be at the center of a scientific revolution that is already revealing the deepest secrets of life?" Nancy Haven Hopkins, Amgen Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"James Watson is one of the most quirky and eccentric individuals ever to reach the starry firmament of immortal fame. A straight-ahead biography is much needed, given Watson's importance. In this perfectly timed account, Victor McElheny makes clear his own admiration for Watson, while giving space to his faults and his detractors at each turn of the spiral staircase." Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch and Time, Love, Memory

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0738203416
• ISBN 13: 9780738203416
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384