Fifty years ago, James D. Watson, then just 24, helped launch the greatest ongoing scientific quest of our time. Now, with unique authority and sweeping vision, he gives us the first full account of the genetic revolution - from Mendel's garden to the double helix, to the sequencing of the human genome and beyond.Watson's lively, panoramic narrative begins with the fanciful speculations of the ancients as to why "like begets like" before skipping ahead to 1866, when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first deduced the basic laws of inheritance. But genetics as we recognize it today came into being with the breakthrough discovery of the structure of DNA, for which Watson shared a Nobel prize in 1962.
Having shown that the secret of life is chemical, modern genetics has set mankind off on a journey unimaginable just a few decades ago. Watson provides the general reader with clear explanations of molecular processes and emerging technologies. He shows us how DNA continues to alter our understanding of human origins.
Facing a future of choices and social and ethical implications, we could have no better guide than James Watson. Infused with a scientist's awe at nature's marvels and a humanist's profound sympathies, DNA is destined to become the classic telling of the defining scientific saga of our age.