- Hardcover: 270 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford; New Ed edition (13 Sep 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0198604289
- ISBN-13: 978-0198604280
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 13 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,385,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
A Passion for DNA: Genes, Genomes and Society is a collection o f essays by James D Watson, the American co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and one of the most famous scientists alive. When his groundbreaking work on the molecular blueprint of life was done in 1953, Watson was still only 25 years old and was working in the University of Cambridge with the English scientist Francis Crick. So important was their work, that both Crick and Watson were awarded the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Three years later, as a professor at Harvard, Watson wrote a seminal text book on Molecular Biology of the Gene. Then, in 1968, his runaway bestseller The Double Helix--the behind-the-scenes version of how Crick and he had worked together to crack the problem of DNA structure--soon became the most-read popular science book ever. Brilliantly written, the book raised many hackles in the scientific world, especially in the rather conservative and secretive world of British science at the time.
Now some 32 years later, both men are senior citizens, but both are still active scientists in different ways. Watson tells how his career path "moved from a doer of science to my later roles as a manager of science...and occasional governmental advisor or bureaucrat". Designed for the general reader, the essays address what Watson regards as the big issues of the day: the War on Cancer, the arrival of Recombinant DNA procedures, the Human Genome Project, and GM foods, plus autobiographical sketches. Jim Watson's subsequent role as a statesman for science might seem an unlikely one for such a mercurial character but as these essays show, he has lost none of his magical touch with words and is never afraid to speak his mind, no matter how non-pc the result might be. As he says "moving forward will not be for the faint of heart".--Douglas Palmer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
edifying and hugely entertaining (Richard Dawkins )
'Jim Watson's thoughts are fresh, fearless and free. What is more, they are usually right.' Matt Ridley, author of Genome --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'Jim Watson's thoughts are fresh, fearless and free. What is more, they are usually right.' Matt Ridley, author of Genome --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As a student studying genetics I found this book fascinating both as it shows the progression of James Watson through his early career to the discovery of the structure of DNA and beyond and also as it gives an insight into how Watson felt upon making these discoveries. The later chapters on his more recent work and on his opinions on more wide ranging topics such as the ethical implications of the Human Genome Project were also very informative.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Watson's passion
9 July 2000
Format:Hardcover
Chris, I've been reading Watson's new book "a passion forDNA". Autobiographical writings on the thought process and earlyDNA players of the 40s 50s and 60s, as well as some more recent musings on recombinant DNA, cancer and the genome.
Very well done! Gives an appreciation for how the obvious can be overlooked, and how difficult it is to break out of old ways of thinking. And the man writes very well... and he shares my politics... hes obviously a genius.
Many insights about who did what, who succeded, who fell short. Good short pieces on Luria, Pauling and Hershey. Points out Caltech's shabby treatment of Pauling on his retirement... they didnt like HIS politics!
I hadn't realized that Alex Rich played an important role in studying the structure of DNA and RNA right at the beginning (the 50s) looking for DNA like structure in RNA, (with Watson at caltech) - they didnt find much and were stumped - though Alex later showed that copolymers of RNA can have double helical structure. And did you know that Francis Crick, in 1968, argued that RNA must have been the original genetic molecule... and that it might act as an enzyme catalyzing its own replication! How right he was. Shades of Ribozyme!
So am I making myself clear... buy this book...
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Whoa, this book has been ignored!
29 Mar 2002
Format:Hardcover
With the release of "Genes, Girls, and Gamow", this earlier book has suddenly been ignored, overlooked, and forgotten. Nobody, of course, forgets "The Double Helix", and now we have this sensation called "Genes Girls and Gamow". With a bad choice of title and an equally bad choice for a cover---a large close-up picture of a geeky young biologist---making such a mockery and preposterous idea of what appeals to girls in general, I can only salute Rosalind Franklin for her exquisite determination not to be lured by this sly personage. If one wants to examine the life and perspective of the codiscoverer of the structure of the double helix from a more venerable perspective, "A Passion for DNA: Genes Genomes and Society" will earn the reader's respect. From the cover alone of this book, it is almost galling that, by comparison, "Genes Girls and Gamow" gets more brouhaha, hoopla, and hoolabaloo.
10 of 18 people found the following review helpful
A Passion for Bible Pounding
3 Sep 2000
Format:Hardcover
It is understandable that right to life advocates are desperate to find soap boxes for their religious and political views. However we think it inappropriate to abuse this forum intended for the evaluation of literary works. The expression of political and religious opinions should be reserved for those venues intended for those puposes. Dr. Watson's book is a scientifically insightful and humanistically compassionate work deserving of serious attention.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Medical, Legal & Social Sciences > Philosophy
- Books > Biography > Science, Mathematics & Technology > Engineering
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Biochemistry
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Genetics > DNA
- Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Popular Maths
- Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science > Genetics
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
