Genes, Girls and Gamow

James D. Watson

OUP Oxford, Oct 11, 2001 - Science - 304 pages

In 1953 Watson and Crick discovered the double helical structure of DNA and Watson's personal account of the discovery, The Double Helix, was published in 1968. Genes, Girls and Gamow is also autobiographical, covering the period from when The Double Helix ends, in 1953, to a few years later, and ending with a Postscript bringing the story up to date. Here is Watson adjusting to new-found fame, carrying out tantalizing experiments on the role of RNA in biology, and falling in love. The book is enlivened with copies of handwritten letters from the larger than life character George Gamow, who had made significant contributions to physics but became intrigued by genes, RNA and the elusive genetic code. This is a tale of heartbreak, scientific excitement and ambition, laced with travelogue and '50s atmosphere.

Contents

• PROLOGUE: 1
• April 1953: 5
• AprilMay 1953: 10
• June 1953: 16
• JulyAugust 1953: 21
• September 1953: 28
• October 1953January 1954: 34
• JanuaryFebruary 1954: 41
• February 1954: 48
• MarchApril 1954: 52
• May 1954: 65
• June 1954: 69
• July 1954: 74
• August 1954: 80
• August 1954: 86
• September 1954: 91
• October 1954: 96
• NovemberDecember 1954: 102
• December 1954January 1955: 110
• FebruaryMarch 1955: 116
• MarchJune 1955: 164
• July 1955: 174
• August 1955: 183
• September 1955: 190
• October 1955: 198
• NovemberDecember 1955: 214
• December 1955January 1956: 221
• JanuaryFebruary 1956: 227
• February 1956: 235
• MarchApril 1956: 239
• MayJune 1956: 246
• JuneSeptember 1956: 250
• October 1956March 1968: 257

About the author

In 1953, while working at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helical structure of DNA. For their discovery they, with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Watson was appointed to the faculty at Harvard University in 1956. In 1968, while retaining his position at Harvard, he became director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). In 1988 he was appointed as associate director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) to help launch the Human Genome Program. A year later he became the first director of the National Center for Human Genome Research at the NIH, a position he held until 1992. In 1994 Watson became president of CSHL, the position he holds today.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Genes, Girls and Gamow
• Author: James D. Watson
• Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2001
• ISBN: 0191590622, 9780191590627
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; History / Modern / 20th Century / General; History / World; Science / General; Science / History; Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics