The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix

The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix by Howard Markel

What do we make of Rosalind Franklin? She did some work which was instrumental in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. However, she never came to the conclusion herself. She was a Jewish woman working in the realm of white men. (Though there were a number of other women working there.) She died at a young age, and thus never even had the opportunity to be in the running for the Nobel Prize. Had she lived longer, she may have had an illustrious scientific career. Or she may have just faded away. Maybe her personality was a problem. Or maybe it was the personalities of others. Was she a trailblazer? A martyr? Or something else?

Her story is the sideline to the story told her that rightfully focuses on Watson and Crick. They had different personalities and upbringings. Crick was British and went a more traditional route to his research. Watson went a roundabout way to end up in the lab in England. He grew up in Chicago and studied in the midwest before getting funding to study in Europe. Then he was drawn to the research and managed to get to England. There he met Crick. They worked off each other to "unravel DNA".

The book also provides the backgrounds of the competitors (such as Linus Pauling) and the others that were involved in the discovery (including those in the Kings lab nearby.) Even Schrodinger and his "What is Life?" played a role. There is both friendship and competition in the process. Franklin seems to play an important role, but she seems to be described more than an active participant. (That is probably due in part to her death at a young age without reaching much renown.) Watson and Crick come across as "good 'ol boys" They (especially) Watson, have uttered things that are not very politically correct regarding people, race, and genetics. This encourages people to look for more ways to lessen their impact, but it remains hard to do.