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About this book
A collection of essays, speeches, and reports by J D Watson, famously telling the story of his co-discovery with Crick of the structure of DNA in 1953. The pieces in this book deal with Watson's early life and career, science and politics, the advance of molecular genetics, genetics and society, the recombinant DNA debate, the prospects for curing cancer over the next decade, and how human genetic knowledge is likely to be used, for good or bad.
`Jim Watson has elevated his unique combination of justified arrogance, scurrilous candour and disconcertingly mature wisdom into an art form. As one of the half dozen twentieth century scientists whose name will live into the fourth millennium he gets away with it, and the result is both edifying and hugely entertaining.' Richard Dawkins
Contents
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL FLIGHTS; VALUES FROM A CHICAGO UPBRINGING; GROWING UP IN THE PHAGE GROUP; MINDS THAT LIVE FOR SCIENCE; EARLY SPECULATIONS AND FACTS ABOUT RNA TEMPLATES; BRAGG'S FOREWORD TO THE DOUBLE HELIX; BIOGRAPHIES: LURIA, HERSHEY, AND PAULING; RECOMINANT DNA CONTROVERSIES; IN FURTHER DEFENSE OF DNA; STANDING UP FOR RECOMBINANT DNA; THE NOBELIST VERSUS THE FILM STAR; THE DNA BIOCHEMICAL CANARD; ETHOS OF SCIENCE; MOVING TOWARDS THE CLONAL MAN: IS THIS WHAT WE WANT?; THE DISSEMINATION OF UNPUBLISHED INFORMATION; SCIENCE AND THE AMERICAN SCENE; THE NECESSITY FOR SOME ACADEMIC ALOOFNESS; STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE; SUCCEEDING IN SCIENCE: SOME RULES OF THUMB; WAR ON CANCER; THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY AND CANCER RESEARCH; MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY CANCER RESEARCH IN A ZERO-SUM ERA; THE SCIENCE FOR BEATING DOWN CANCER; SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT; MOVING ON TO HUMAN DNA; ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT; GENES AND POLITICS; FIVE DAYS IN BERLIN; GOOD GENE, BAD GENE: WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO FIGHT THE TRAGEDY OF GENETIC DISEASE?; VIEWPOINT: ALL FOR THE GOOD - WHY GENETIC ENGINEERING MUST SOLDIER ON; AFTERWORD: ENVOI - DNA, PEACE AND LAUGHTER; NAME INDEX, SUBJECT INDEX
Customer Reviews
By: James D Watson
250 pages, no illustrations
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