The secret of life : Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the discovery of DNA's double helix / Howard Markel.

Title:

Author:

Markel, Howard,

ISBN:

9781324002239

1324002239

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Info:

New York, N.Y. :

Description:

564 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Contents:

Opening credits -- The monk and the biochemist -- Before the double helix -- Take me to the Cavendish Laboratory -- The third man -- Like touching the fronds of a sea anemone -- There was no one like Linus in all the world -- The quiz kid -- Vide Napule e po' muore -- From Ann Arbor to Cambridge -- An American in Cambridge -- The king's war -- The lecture -- The dreaming spires of Oxford -- Mr. Crick and Dr. Watson build their dream model -- Dr. Pauling's predicament -- Chargaff's rules -- Paris and Royaumont -- A haphazard summer -- Linus sings -- A stomach ache in Clare College -- Peter and the wolf -- Photograph no. 51 -- The mornings after -- The MRC report -- Base pairs -- It's so beautiful -- Defeat -- It has not escaped our notice -- Stockholm -- Closing credits.

Summary:

"A definitive history of the race to unravel DNA's structure, by one of our most prominent medical historians. Biologist James Watson and physicist Francis Crick's 1953 revelation about the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it-and why were they the ones who succeeded? In truth, the discovery of DNA's structure is the story of a race among five scientists for advancement, fame, and immortality: Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, and Linus Pauling. They were fascinating and brilliant, with strong personalities that often clashed. But it is Rosalind Franklin who becomes a focal point for Markel. The Secret of Life is a story of genius and perseverance, but also a saga of cronyism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and misconduct. Markel brilliantly recounts the intense intellectual journey, and the fraught personal relationships, that resulted in the discovery of DNA"--

Personal Subject:

Franklin, Rosalind, 1920-1958.

Watson, James D., 1928-

Crick, Francis, 1916-2004.

Wilkins, Maurice, 1916-2004.

Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994.

Subject(s):

DNA -- Structure -- Research -- History -- 20th century.

Genetic code -- Research -- History -- 20th century.

Holds: Copies (not including on-order items):

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Summary

James Watson and Francis Crick's 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it--and why were they the ones who succeeded?

In truth, the discovery of DNA's structure is the story of five towering minds in pursuit of the advancement of science, and for almost all of them, the prospect of fame and immortality: Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, and Linus Pauling. Each was fascinating and brilliant, with strong personalities that often clashed. Howard Markel skillfully re-creates the intense intellectual journey, and fraught personal relationships, that ultimately led to a spectacular breakthrough. But it is Rosalind Franklin--fiercely determined, relentless, and an outsider at Cambridge and the University of London in the 1950s, as the lone Jewish woman among young male scientists--who becomes a focal point for Markel.

The Secret of Life is a story of genius and perseverance, but also a saga of cronyism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and misconduct. Drawing on voluminous archival research, including interviews with James Watson and with Franklin's sister, Jenifer Glynn, Markel provides a fascinating look at how science is done, how reputations are undone, and how history is written, and revised.

A vibrant evocation of Cambridge in the 1950s, Markel also provides colorful depictions of Watson and Crick--their competitiveness, idiosyncrasies, and youthful immaturity--and compelling portraits of Wilkins, Pauling, and most cogently, Rosalind Franklin. The Secret of Life is a lively and sweeping narrative of this landmark discovery, one that finally gives the woman at the center of this drama her due.

Author Notes

Howard Markel is Director, Historical Center for the Health Sciences, George E. Wantz Professor of the History of Medicine, and Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan Medical School.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

One of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century was also the scientific heist of the century, according to this action-packed history. Historian Markel (The Kelloggs) recreates the 1953 elucidation of DNA's structure by Cambridge University's James Watson and Francis Crick and their rivalry with the King's College team of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. While for decades history books have attributed the discovery to Watson and Crick, it really wasn't so simple, Markel writes--their discovery was based on Franklin's research that was "borrowed" by Watson. Markel skillfully explains the knotty science behind the breakthrough and highlights the clash of outsize personalities: the mercurial, loudmouthed physicist Crick; the nerdy, manipulative molecular biologist Watson; the prickly X-ray crystallographer Franklin; the "high-strung, bumbling" biophysicist Wilkins; and the world-renowned chemist Linus Pauling (who threatened to beat them all). Markel decries Watson and Crick's secret appropriation of Franklin's X-ray data as "one of the most egregious rip-offs in scientific history" and the culmination of her "oppression" by "white, entitled, English academic lords." His tone sometimes feels overblown, but his tart, sharp-eyed prose--"Chargaff was unimpressed by Crick's nonstop blathering, not to mention Watson's Greek chorus of eye-bulging and snorting"--saves the day. This wonderfully evocative tale sings. Photos. (Sept.)

Booklist Review

The discovery of the elegant double helix structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 "represents a light-switch moment in the history of science--for that matter, in human history," writes medical historian Markel (The Kelloggs, 2017). Previously, much of the backstory of this breakthrough was gleaned from James Watson's popular but biased 1968 memoir, The Double Helix. Markel corrects the record in this epic "whodunit" about how the race to unravel the mystery of life's master molecule was warped by misogyny, culture, personality, and power relationships. The stars of the story have always been the brilliant physicist Francis Crick and ambitious biologist Watson. But Markel greatly credits the work of the brilliant if ill-fated chemist Rosalind Franklin. Her X-ray crystallography photographs of DNA were essential to the discovery of its unique structure, but Watson appropriated Franklin's work without her permission. The chase to elucidate DNA's design involved differing methodologies (X-ray diffraction images, model building) and competing scientists, including Linus Pauling and Maurice Wilkins. Self-confidence, intuition, and serendipity occupy prominent positions here. Markel masterfully demonstrates how temperaments, pettiness, and the pursuit of prestige can poison science. An illuminating and candid resetting of a pivotal moment in science, with characters who often cross the line between antagonist and protagonist.

Library Journal Review

This collective biography attempts to strip away the hyperbole that has grown up around the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. Markel (history of medicine, Univ. of Michigan; Anatomy of Addiction) begins the book with a brief sketch of the history of the field now known as genetics and recounts the early lives and careers of the scientists Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Maurice Wilkins, and Linus Pauling. This sets the stage for Markel's detailed examination of the research on X-ray diffraction at Kings College, London, and the theoretical work done at the Cavendish Lab at Cambridge in the early 1950s. No explosive new details are revealed, but Markel unifies the timeline and gives voice to the scientific and personal thoughts of the principal scientists, found in their correspondence, lab notebooks, memoirs, and interviews. Markel's book portrays each scientist as a complex individual and is firm in the conclusion that Franklin was denied due credit for the DNA discovery. (One of her colleagues and her supervisor had showed her data to Watson, precipitating his breakthrough on the DNA model.) VERDICT This enjoyable account will save readers' time by synthesizing and supplementing information from the dozen or so memoirs and biographies of Crick, Franklin, Watson, Wilkins, and Pauling.--Wade Lee-Smith, Univ. of Toledo Lib., OH

Part I Prologue
1 Opening Credits	p. 3
2 The Monk and the Biochemist	p. 14
3 Before the Double Helix	p. 22
Part II The Players' Club
4 Take Me to the Cavendish Laboratory	p. 35
5 The Third Man	p. 49
6 Like Touching the Fronds of a Sea Anemone	p. 63
7 There Was No One Like Linus in All the World	p. 90
8 The Quiz Kid	p. 105
Part III Tick-Tock, 1951
9 Vide Napule e po' muore	p. 127
10 From Ann Arbor to Cambridge	p. 143
11 An American in Cambridge	p. 155
12 The King's War	p. 166
13 The Lecture	p. 184
14 The Dreaming Spires of Oxford	p. 202
15 Mr. Click and Dr. Watson Build Their Dream Model	p. 215
Part IV Moratorium, 1952
16 Dr. Pauling's Predicament	p. 237
17 Chargaff's Rules	p. 246
18 Paris and Royaumont	p. 256
19 A Haphazard Summer	p. 265
Part V The Home Stretch, November 1952-April 1953
20 Linus Sings	p. 279
21 A Stomach Ache in Clare College	p. 287
22 Peter and the Wolf	p. 295
23 Photograph No. 51	p. 302
24 The Mornings After	p. 317
25 The MRC Report	p. 330
26 Base Pairs	p. 340
27 It's So Beautiful	p. 353
28 Defeat	p. 364
29 It Has Not Escaped Our Notice	p. 377
Part VI The Nobel Prize
30 Stockholm	p. 405
31 Closing Credits	p. 417
Acknowledgments	p. 429
Notes	p. 433
Illustration Credits	p. 537
Index	p. 541

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents