Book announcement: The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix
Jim Watson's "The Double Helix", published in
1968, was written not in the tone of a formal autobiography nor in the measured
language of the historian, but in the voice of a brash, self-confident young
man who knew the big question in biology. Reviled by some, and praised by many,
it remains, almost half-a-century later, one of the classics of scientific
literature. This year it was recognized by the Library of Congress as one of
the 88 books "That shaped America".
Alex Gann and I have now prepared "The Annotated and
Illustrated Double Helix", to be co-published by Simon & Schuster and
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press on November 6, 2012. The book reproduces
Watson's original text and we have provided the back story, so to speak, to
Watson's account. We have:
- carried out research in the archives of Watson,
Crick,Franklin and Pauling, and incorporated information from many other
sources, to add some
260 annotations to Watson's original text
- added over 250 illustrations, many facsimiles of
original documents
- included text dealing with key issues, written
specially for the book by Ray Gosling, Franklin's Ph.D. student
- included a previously unpublished chapter from the
original manuscript
- included an analysis of Watson's troubles over his
fellowship when he moved from Stockholm to Cambridge
- included an account of the fight over the publication
of the book
Two early readers commented:
Ian McEwan, author of "Atonement" and
"Solar"
"The Double Helix" is the best book I know
about a scientific discovery - its intricacies, contingencies, its human face,
elevated gossip and intense excitement.
This new edition suffuses the whole with social history, fascinating
documentation, photography and cunning background research. Reading it is like
watching a very good movie. The early fifties, the beginning of the modern age
of molecular biology, spring to life.
Matt Ridley, author of "Genome" and
"Francis Crick"
"The Double Helix" is an extraordinary book: a
thrilling, novelistic account of one of the most surprising of all scientific
discoveries. This new edition draws upon a remarkable and eclectic archive of
information to bring to life the stories of those who found the secret of life.
Kirkus Reviews have awarded it a star as a book of
"remarkable merit" and the reviewer wrote that "Readers old or new
are in for a fine treat"
You can find further details and two sample chapters for
downloading at this web site:
The Annotated and Illustrated Double
All the best
Jan
Jan A. Witkowski Ph.D.
Executive Director, Banbury Center
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11743
516.547.8398