Skip to main content
G:W1:4 4
Edit position
Edit position

Last set 1 hour, 43 minutes ago. Manual moves override automatic placement until the next shelfie/spine match.

The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA
Diagnose this book
Open in Vernon Browser

The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA

by James D. Watson

A personal memoir detailing the competitive race to discover the double-helix structure of DNA. The account provides an insider perspective on the intense rivalries, challenges, and collaborative breakthroughs that revolutionised the field of biochemistry.

Accession 30583 ISBN — Publisher —
Book Images
Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images
Reference
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA spine
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA cover
Live
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA live spine
No live
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA spine The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA live spine
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA cover
No live
TAGS
Curated Derived
Biography Biology Education History Life Sciences Professions Science
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-06 13:10
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
G:W1:4 4 Current vertical
1 day, 5 hours ago
M:N3:20 3 vertical
2 days, 2 hours ago
M:N3:20 2 vertical
2 days, 2 hours ago
G:W1:4 4 vertical
3 days, 5 hours ago
G:W1:9 5 vertical
5 days, 2 hours ago
G:W1:9 5 vertical
1 week, 2 days ago
M:N3:20 3 vertical
1 week, 3 days ago
G:W1:9 5 vertical
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Book Location
Updated 1 hour, 43 minutes ago
Vernon snapshot
View live

Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-21 02:04 (2 weeks, 2 days ago)

Identity

name→ title
The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA
vernon_id
42764
accession_no→ accession_number
30583
vernon_slug
the-double-helix-a-personal-account-of-the-discovery-of-the-structure-of-dna-by-james-d-watson

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
—

Descriptive

production_date
1968
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
By identifying the structure of DNA, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won a Nobel Prize. All the time Watson was only twenty-four, a young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the identification of the basic building block of life. -- Trove First English edition of Watson's controversial personal account of the DNA discovery, affectionately inscribed by Watson to biochemist Mahlon Hoagland, the first person to describe tRNA, and his wife, Olley. This is the second-issue dust jacket; Watson demanded that the nearly unobtainable first-issue be retracted almost immediately claimed that it stirred up controversy and insulted Crick. He also threatened to file a lawsuit. Mahlon Hoagland, to whom this copy is inscribed, worked with Crick after describing the tRNA molecule: "It soon turned out that a biochemist at the Harvard Medical School, Mahlon Hoagland, had quite independently obtained some experimental evidence that supported my proposal [that a tRNA molecule of some sort must exist]... A little later Mahlon came to Cambridge for a year and we did experiments together on transfer RNA" (Crick, What Mad Pursuit, 96). "Olley" was Hoagland's second wife, a bookseller. Owner Signature. --Bauman Sale Description.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
James D. Watson
tags→ tags
Science, Life sciences, History, DNA, Nucleic acids, Biomolecules, Molecules, Biology, Genetics, Biography, Research, Science -- History, Scientists, Professions, Occupations, Discoveries in science, Biologists, Life scientists, Molecular biology, Biochemistry
subject_people
James D. Watson (American, b.1928), Francis Crick (English, b.1916, d.2004)
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
54959

Raw Vernon JSON

click to inspect

The source payload behind the snapshot above.
Use ⌘F to search once expanded.
{7 keys}
"slug": "the-double-helix-a-personal-account-of-the-discovery-of-the-structure-of-dna-by-james-d-watson"
"opacObjectId": "42764"
"opacCollection": {1 keys}
"opacCollectionId": "1"
"imagesCollection": {2 keys}
"images": [1 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"imageId": "54959"
"cssColors": [4 items]
"[0]": {9 keys}
"hex": "c0c0c0"
"hue": 0
"rank": 1
"presence": 4.18
"colorName": "silver"
"lightness": 75
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "silver"
"[1]": {9 keys}
"hex": "000000"
"hue": 0
"rank": 2
"presence": 81.56
"colorName": "black"
"lightness": 0
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "black"
"[2]": {9 keys}
"hex": "696969"
"hue": 0
"rank": 3
"presence": 12.44
"colorName": "dimgray"
"lightness": 41
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "dim gray"
"[3]": {9 keys}
"hex": "800080"
"hue": 300
"rank": 4
"presence": 1.06
"colorName": "purple"
"lightness": 25
"colorGroup": "purple"
"saturation": 100
"formattedColorName": "purple"
"rawColors": [7 items]
"[0]": {6 keys}
"hex": "b9b8b2"
"hue": 51
"rank": 1
"presence": 4.18
"lightness": 71
"saturation": 4
"[1]": {6 keys}
"hex": "080e0d"
"hue": 170
"rank": 2
"presence": 81.56
"lightness": 4
"saturation": 27
"[2]": {6 keys}
"hex": "69694a"
"hue": 60
"rank": 3
"presence": 12.44
"lightness": 35
"saturation": 17
"[3]": {6 keys}
"hex": "64115c"
"hue": 305
"rank": 4
"presence": 1.06
"lightness": 22
"saturation": 70
"[4]": {6 keys}
"hex": "482936"
"hue": 334
"rank": 5
"presence": 0.75
"lightness": 22
"saturation": 27
"[5]": {6 keys}
"hex": "7c8c78"
"hue": 108
"rank": 6
"presence": 0.01
"lightness": 50
"saturation": 8
"[6]": {6 keys}
"hex": "79198c"
"hue": 290
"rank": 7
"presence": 0.0
"lightness": 32
"saturation": 69
"imageLabels": [8 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"count": 606
"score": 96.3
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Text"
"imageLabelId": 2114
"[1]": {5 keys}
"count": 15171
"score": 92.42
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book"
"imageLabelId": 67
"[2]": {5 keys}
"count": 19411
"score": 91.77
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Font"
"imageLabelId": 12
"[3]": {5 keys}
"count": 19018
"score": 91.64
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Publication"
"imageLabelId": 23
"[4]": {5 keys}
"count": 12694
"score": 69.47
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book cover"
"imageLabelId": 90
"[5]": {5 keys}
"count": 3121
"score": 61.1
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Novel"
"imageLabelId": 2008
"[6]": {5 keys}
"count": 4954
"score": 59.04
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Science"
"imageLabelId": 180
"[7]": {5 keys}
"count": 5750
"score": 57.01
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Graphic design"
"imageLabelId": 17
"imageDerivatives": [6 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/large/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "530"
"height": "800"
"identifier": "LARGE"
"[1]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/medium/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "265"
"height": "400"
"identifier": "MEDIUM"
"[2]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/nano/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "23"
"height": "35"
"identifier": "NANO"
"[3]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/small/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "99"
"height": "150"
"identifier": "SMALL"
"[4]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/tiny/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "50"
"height": "75"
"identifier": "TINY"
"[5]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/xlarge/37997/e855543a99093a6ef984a523751896ad8e36a2cd.jpg"
"width": "795"
"height": "1200"
"identifier": "XLARGE"
"totalImages": 1
"objectSearchScore": 0.3118719
"opacObjectFieldSets": [40 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "accession_no"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "30583"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA / by James D. Watson"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "title"
"value": "The double helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA / by James D. Watson"
"[2]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "other_name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "artist_last_first"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Watson, James D."
"[4]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "1968"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [2 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "earliest_date"
"value": "1968-01-01Z"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"key": "latest_date"
"value": "1968-12-31Z"
"[5]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "edition"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "brief_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [5 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "By identifying the structure of DNA, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won a Nobel Prize. All the time Watson was only twenty-four, a young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the identification of the basic building block of life. -- Trove"
"[1]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[2]": {1 keys}
"value": "First English edition of Watson's controversial personal account of the DNA discovery, affectionately inscribed by Watson to biochemist Mahlon Hoagland, the first person to describe tRNA, and his wife, Olley."
"[3]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[4]": {1 keys}
"value": "This is the second-issue dust jacket; Watson demanded that the nearly unobtainable first-issue be retracted almost immediately claimed that it stirred up controversy and insulted Crick. He also threatened to file a lawsuit. Mahlon Hoagland, to whom this copy is inscribed, worked with Crick after describing the tRNA molecule: "It soon turned out that a biochemist at the Harvard Medical School, Mahlon Hoagland, had quite independently obtained some experimental evidence that supported my proposal [that a tRNA molecule of some sort must exist]... A little later Mahlon came to Cambridge for a year and we did experiments together on transfer RNA" (Crick, What Mad Pursuit, 96). "Olley" was Hoagland's second wife, a bookseller. Owner Signature. --Bauman Sale Description."
"[8]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "measure_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[9]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "credit_line"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[10]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "On Shelf"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "curr_loc_status:"On Shelf""
"[11]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "ob_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Accessioned"
"[12]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "lender"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[13]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_owner"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[14]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[15]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_start"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[16]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_expiry"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[17]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[18]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[19]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "object_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "object_type:"Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication""
"[20]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "collection"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Main Collection/Library"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "collection:"Main Collection/Library""
"[21]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "London/England"
"[22]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_publisher"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[23]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "physical_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "226 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm."
"[24]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "language"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "English"
"[25]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "isbn_issn"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[26]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_1"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[27]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "usual_loc_being"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[28]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_class"
"opacObjectFields": [9 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Biochemistry/Biology/Life sciences/Science"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Biochemistry/Biology/Life sciences/Science""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Biography/History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Biography/History""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "Biologists/Life scientists/Scientists/Professions/Occupations"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Biologists/Life scientists/Scientists/Professions/Occupations""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"value": "DNA/Nucleic acids/Biomolecules/Molecules"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"DNA/Nucleic acids/Biomolecules/Molecules""
"[4]": {2 keys}
"value": "Discoveries in science/Research"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Discoveries in science/Research""
"[5]": {2 keys}
"value": "Genetics/Biology/Life sciences/Science"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Genetics/Biology/Life sciences/Science""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"value": "Molecular biology/Biochemistry/Biology/Life sciences/Science"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Molecular biology/Biochemistry/Biology/Life sciences/Science""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"value": "Science"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Science""
"[8]": {2 keys}
"value": "Science -- History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Science -- History""
"[29]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_date"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[30]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[31]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_period"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[32]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[33]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_person"
"opacObjectFields": [2 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "James D. Watson (American, b.1928)"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"James D. Watson (American, b.1928)""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Francis Crick (English, b.1916, d.2004)"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"Francis Crick (English, b.1916, d.2004)""
"[34]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[35]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[36]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[37]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[38]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[39]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_9"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"relationshipsCollection": {2 keys}
"relationships": [1 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"relatedRecords": [1 items]
"[0]": {3 keys}
"slug": "james-d-watson"
"title": "James D. Watson"
"relatedRecordId": "11930"
"relationshipId": "object_prod_pri_person"
"relatedRecordType": "person"
"totalRelatedRecords": 1
"totalRelationships": 1
Topics and Themes