James D. Watson - The Double Helix

In 1968, Watson wrote The Double Helix, one of the Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction books. The book details the sometimes painful story of not only the discovery of the structure of DNA, but also the personalities, conflicts and controversy surrounding their work. Watson's original title was to have been "Honest Jim", in that the book recounts the discovery of the double helix from his point of view and included many of his private emotional impressions at the time. The book changed the way the public viewed scientists and the way they work.

Some controversy surrounded the publication of the book. Watson's book was originally to be published by the Harvard University Press, but both Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins objected, among others. Watson's home university dropped the project and the book was commercially published.

Watson's first textbook, The Molecular Biology of the Gene, set a new standard for textbooks, particularly through the use of concept heads—brief declarative subheadings. Its style has been emulated by almost all successive textbooks. His next textbook was Molecular Biology of the Cell, in which he coordinated the work of a group of scientist-writers. His third textbook was Recombinant DNA, which described the ways in which genetic engineering has brought much new information about how organisms function. The textbooks are still in print.