Source Review of" The Double Helix"

            Everyone knows the feeling of when the last page of a book you’ve been reading turns and multiple emotions arise. A feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction are common, but also a slight sensation of disappointment that the book is over. Online source reviews of books have helped avid readers find material more fitting for what they are looking to read. The Double Helix, written by James D. Watson, is a classic scientific novel, which tells the story of how the structure of DNA was discovered. While most agree the story is an informative and classic novel, different reviews from online sources provide multiple perspectives on why take The Double Helix is considered a scientific masterpiece.

               The Guardian News is an online website, with a section dedicated to the reviews of Science books. The general public is allowed to comment on the book that has been reviewed, but ultimately, freelance journalist Tim Radford, creates the reviews of the selected novels. What is interesting about The Guardian’s review of The Double Helix is that it provides the prospective reader with information regarding when the book was published, and what was going on in the world around that time period. This helps the reader get a feel for how the world was when the discovery was made, for the sake of better clarity of the reading. “The book, from the start, was an event. It was published in 1968, a year marked by amazing and terrible happenings in Vietnam, Prague and Paris, by the assassinations of both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy,” Radford comments, “Even amid all that, The Double Helix still seemed like an event: a provocation, a testament not to be forgotten.” The author explains the key figures in the book based on their personality, providing a more intimate relationship between the key people in the novel and the prospective reader. Overall, The Guardian is a unique book review source due to the fact that is does not give away too much of the plot, but instead, explains the setting and overall ambiance of the story in terms that the prospective reader can make an easy decision on whether or not it is worth the read.

The Guardian's Review