Francis Crick and James Watson and the building blocks of life
(Book)
Description
Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Cicero Public Library - Juvenile Stacks | J B CRICK | On Shelf |
Eisenhower Public Library District - Stacks | 574.8732 EDE | On Shelf |
Summit Public Library District - Juvenile Stacks | J 572.86072 EDE | On Shelf |
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Notes
Published Reviews
Booklist Review
Gr. 9^-12. This book, from the Oxford Portraits in Science series, tells of Watson and Crick, who in 1953 announced their discovery of the molecular structure of DNA. A double biography follows the career of each man from childhood to the present, focusing on their DNA studies. The complexity of those studies necessitates a good deal of explanation concerning the state of research around the time of the double-helix discovery as well as the implications of that discovery for molecular biology. These explanations tend to be dry and confusing, though readers will certainly take away a sense of the importance of Watson and Crick's work. Given the prominence of genetics in late-twentieth-century science and the dearth of books available for young people, libraries may find this a useful addition to their collections. --Carolyn Phelan
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Crick and Watson's long and, at times, frustrating investigative work before discovering the double helix is related here in detail. While the men's genius is revealed, Edelson is also careful to present their human faults and flaws. He discusses Watson's well-known feuds with Rosalind Franklin, a major contributor to his and Crick's research, and, later, with National Institutes of Health director Bernardine Healy. The balanced presentation also credits the research of earlier scientists, providing evidence that each breakthrough was based on the work of many individuals and with the cooperation of colleagues. Along the way, substantial sidebars on "Mendelian Genetics;" sickle-cell anemia; cloned mammals; and even the invention of the Waring Blendor, used to separate molecular components in cells, supplement the technically detailed chapters. Black-and-white photos and simple illustrations appear throughout. They are not as informative as the graphics found in Linda Tagliaferro's Genetic Engineering (Lerner, 1997). Nonetheless, the combined views of scientists as real people rather than idealized heroes with the tedious minutiae of scientific investigation make this a realistic picture of modern research.-Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Published spring 1998. Edelson presents warts-and-all retelling of the quest to determine the molecular structure of DNA. While essential to the story, the level of discourse on the intricacies of molecular biology may bog down some readers. Fittingly, the text ends with a brief discussion of the successful cloning of sheep in Scotland and touches on the major questions raised by this new technology. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Book Review
This latest addition to the Portraits in Science series is somewhat disjointed and unfocused. Edelson attempts to cover the lives of two extraordinary scientists from very different backgrounds who came together for a brief period of time (three years) and were considered the first to describe the structure of DNA in 1953. James Watson, an American biochemist from Chicago, met Francis Crick, an older British physicist, at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University in England in 1951. Both brilliant, their genius was in their collaboration in ``determining the structure of the molecule that made up human genes, deoxyribonucleic acid, abbreviated as DNA.'' The tone of the book is both direct and complex, e.g., ``Now Watson and Crick had their model: two DNA chains, coiled as alpha helixes 20 angstrom units in diameter, making a complete turn every 34 angstrom units, with the bases in each chain 3.4 angstrom units apart.'' An already complicated portrait of Watson and Crick is further diffused by sidebars on the topics of Mendelian genetics, the Waring Blendor, solving the Sickle-cell puzzle and the first cloned mammals. Well-versed scientists may find this volume interesting; however, others will find it just too difficult. (b&w photos and drawings, chronology, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12-15)
Reviews from GoodReads
Citations
Edelson, E. (1998). Francis Crick and James Watson and the building blocks of life . Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Edelson, Edward, 1932-2013. 1998. Francis Crick and James Watson and the Building Blocks of Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Edelson, Edward, 1932-2013. Francis Crick and James Watson and the Building Blocks of Life New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Harvard Citation (style guide)Edelson, E. (1998). Francis crick and james watson and the building blocks of life. New York: Oxford University Press.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Edelson, Edward. Francis Crick and James Watson and the Building Blocks of Life Oxford University Press, 1998.