Genes, Girls, and Gamow

In this candid and compelling memoir, James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, relates the story of his personal and professional fixations in the years following his and Francis Crick's stunning discovery. Watson was obsessed with finding two things: RNA and a wife. In Genes, Girls and Gamow he chronicles those pursuits, revealing a young prankster who was a genius in science but was as heartbreakingly and hilariously awkward as most of us when it came to love. Equally touching are Watson's candid portrayals of other giants in science, from fellow Nobelists Linus Pauling and the incorrigible Richard Feynman to the Russian physicist George Gamow, who loved whiskey and card tricks as much as he did molecules and genetics. Guileless and smart, this is a refreshingly human look at great science behind the scenes.