Forward, Preface and Chapter 1 Summary

The forward by Sir Lawrence Bragg summarizes what the book will be about, discussing first the scientific importance of Francis Crick and James Watson's Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the structure of DNA. Second, it discusses the ethical dilemma that a scientist faces when a colleague has long been working on a problem, and the scientist thinks he or she can solve that problem, based on the colleague's unpublished work. This was a dilemma that Watson faced. Finally, Bragg emphasizes the human interest of the story, which is an autobiographical account of Watson's impressions instead of a historical work.

The preface by the author reiterates that it is an autobiographical account of one man's memories and impressions. The author also includes a list of diagrams in the book, followed by an unnamed section which recounts a climbing expedition...