The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA

Book Description

By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. Never has a scientist been so truthful in capturing in words the flavor of his work.

Customer Reviews:

enough to fire your enthusiasm.......2006-08-09

I read this book as a new science teacher, and it made me realise that all research and teaching can be enlivened by the characters that populate the scientific world. It certainly is not just for academics. I recommend this to everybody - I loved every page. Both Watson and Crick were insufferably arrogant, loud, ostentatious, obnoxious - but it allows the reader to see that enthusiasm and shear pushiness gets places. One sees the boundries set in academic research, and understands also the content of their work. A MUST read. As relevent today as in 1968.

a favorite........2006-05-25

this is easily one of my favorite books. some dislike it for watson's dramatization of certain social elements in the story, and for the way in which crick and watson made their discovery. but i think the book should be appreciated as a text which makes science more accessible to the general public. and perhaps most impressive is how watson does manage to include some science in a way which i think will not distract the lay reader, or bore him.

take it with a grain of salt.......2005-11-24

While James Watson is not on the list of authors I'd generally recommend reading, this book is an exception. Those interested in the history of molecular biology should definitely read this book. Given the nature of the topic, it is light and enjoyable reading. Certainly this account is biased to some extent, which makes it necessary to read other books on the topic as well. Further reading on Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin, among other personalities mentioned in the Double Helix, are highly recommended, and necessary for fair balance.

2 Helix as 1.......2005-11-23

The Double Helix was a one of the books on my high school biology teacher's reading list for the class. The name itself, The Double Helix, had shied me away from reading it; it sounds like some boring old book that will describe the structure of DNA in some very big and boring words. However, after finally reading the book, I completely changed my thoughts on this book. I found the novel to be an easy and exciting to read in an almost fictious hero-like story.
Watson's story is not just a mere account of the events that occurred, but it also contains many of his personal thoughts and views of the events. Watson's purpose for writing The Double Helix was to explain that scientific research was a combination of "the contradictory pulls of ambition and the sense of fair play." Watson involves the reader in the "race" of the DNA structure with Linus Pauling and in the underhanded use of Rosalind Franklin's X-ray data. I, like many others, was sucked into the thrill of Watson's first-hand account of this dishonest race. During many points in the course of the novel, I was anxiously waiting to turn the page to see what Watson or Crick might do next. As Sir Lawrence Bragg puts it in the foreword, "I do not know any other instance where one is able to share so intimately in the researcher's struggle and doubts and final triumph."
The Double Helix was not only a good read, but also it has reinvigorated my spirit in the field of research, especially the active field of genetics. My first year of college courses in chemistry and biology had began to turn me away from research in particular areas, for the courses just did not seem to interest me anymore. However, this book has provided me with a new avenue into the exciting world and life of scientific research; I am again looking forward to going into the genetic research field.
I observed a very interesting point in the book, which is that all the data and diagrams that were discussed throughout the novel are also taught in our chemistry classes; it is in this fact that I find science's beauty, that only 50 years ago this data was used to solve the structure of a totally unknown molecule/idea and is now taught in elementary chemistry classes.
The Double Helix is an exceptional novel that I recommend to all.

A dishonourment to Rosalind Franklin's memory.......2005-11-18

This book is an innaccurate version of events in the the discovery of teh structure of DNA. What most people don't know is that Rosalind Franklin was crucial to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Watson and Crick actually stole most of her data via Wilson, her supervisor, adn passed it off as their own discoverery. She was a brilliant scientist and should have been an independent researcher at Kings College, but because she was a woman she was made an assistant to Wilson. She was extremely dedicated and plowed through all the obstacles at Kings College. However, her supervisor, Wilson, showed most of her data to his old friend Crick, who shared it with his partner Watson. They too were studying DNA, although they were on completely wrong track. The data that was pilfered included the famous photo 51, which Franklin obtained over a course of years' work and revealed the spiral shape of DNA. They also positioned the competent of DNA, such as the bases, exactly as she hypothesized. Watson, Crick, and Wilson received the Nobel Prize, while Franklin could not, because she died at the age of 38 due to radiation exposure from the X-rays she used to capture photo 51. The men only mentioned her in passing when accepting their prize, and definitely not as the source of the actual discovery. Then Watson had the gall to write a book that casts her in a horrible light, as an inferior person who was bad tempered and selfishly hoarded her information. He also calls her `Rosy' throughout the entire book, although she despised that name. He once even went up to Rosalind and demanded that she hand over her data. He was a complete bigot, and thought her inferior and was furious when she refused to share her own findings to him. He harps about her appearance in the book, and it is obvious that is the only way he perceives her, and not as a thinking person. And for the record, she was actually quite striking, and wore the latest in French fashions. She was extremely dedicated, and her level of determination would have been completely accepted in a man. That's why I give this book a one, and if I could I'd give it a zero. Watson is just begging for comeuppance for what he wrote in this book. I would reccomend reading other books about Rosalind's struggle, such as 'Rosalind Franklin: The dark lady of DNA'

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (Norton Critical Editions)

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DNA discovery
The drama behind the DNA
Understated Account of a Really Big Event
The Double Helix

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (Norton Critical Editions)
James D. Watson
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393950751

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"Science seldom proceeds in the straightforward logical manner imagined by outsiders," writes James Watson in The Double Helix, his account of his codiscovery (along with Francis Crick) of the structure of DNA. Watson and Crick won Nobel Prizes for their work, and their names are memorized by biology students around the world. But as in all of history, the real story behind the deceptively simple outcome was messy, intense, and sometimes truly hilarious. To preserve the "real" story for the world, James Watson attempted to record his first impressions as soon after the events of 1951-1953 as possible, with all their unpleasant realities and "spirit of adventure" intact.

Watson holds nothing back when revealing the petty sniping and backbiting among his colleagues, while acknowledging that he himself was a willing participant in the melodrama. In particular, Watson reveals his mixed feelings about his famous colleague in discovery, Francis Crick, who many thought of as an arrogant man who talked too much, and whose brilliance was appreciated by few. This is the joy of The Double Helix--instead of a chronicle of stainless-steel heroes toiling away in their sparkling labs, Watson's chronicle gives readers an idea of what living science is like, warts and all. The Double Helix is a startling window into the scientific method, full of insight and wit, and packed with the kind of science anecdotes that are told and retold in the halls of universities and laboratories everywhere. It's the stuff of legends. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

The classic personal account of one of the great scientific discoveries of the century.

By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a brilliant young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of the life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. He is impressed by the achievements of the young man he was, but clear-eyed about his limitations. Never has such a brilliant scientist also been so gifted, and so truthful, in capturing in words the flavor of his work.

Customer Reviews:

Which edition to get ?.......2007-04-18

I ended up getting copies of two different paperback editions.

The Simon & Schuster Touchstone Book, with a little bit of an introduction by Sylvia Nasar, has easy-to-read print and the photographs are pleasantly large. Good for reading in the subway.

But the Norton Critical edition, edited by Gunther S. Stent, is the one to get if you can only afford one. Its typeface leaves much to be desired, and, in my copy, some of the pages are hard to read because the printer seems to have run out of ink in the middle of the job. But the edition has materials that are indispensable for an understanding of this classic work of science. I enjoyed, most of all, Stent's essay "reviewing the reviews," showing both the wisdom (by some) and the foolishness (by others) with which the Double Helix was received by the scientific community.

DNA discovery.......2007-03-18

Excellent book formulating the personalities and egos behind the race for DNA. Interesting and well written. Add a star if you are in the field.

The drama behind the DNA.......2007-03-09

I read this as a requirement for a class but actually found it interesting. It show the human sides to the people behing the discovery of DNA and exposes the drama and gossip going on. It also shows just how difficult it was and is to be a woman scientist (Rosalind's story).
It is a short book, an easy read, I recommend it.

Understated Account of a Really Big Event.......2002-11-08

Clarification is in order. First of all, this is not a substantive science book. For all the significance of the discovery it chronicles, The Double Helix never bothers to explain how, for example, x-ray crystallography actually works, or what the difference between a keto- and an -enol is, or even why Watson's and Crick's discovery brought on a new era in the life sciences. Aspiring students of genetics and molecular biology are urged to inquire elsewhere for answers to these questions.

Second, to label The Double Helix a book on scientific method is almost equally misleading - the reason being that there is no room in the rarefied formalism extolled by the likes of Karl Popper for Watson's subjectivity and sarcasm, not to mention the latter's frequent excursions on nubile au pairs and the deplorable student housing market at Cambridge.

Third (not that it matters for an appreciation of the book, but it's a common misunderstanding), Watson and Crick did not discover DNA itself, or even the function of DNA. Rather, they were awarded the Nobel Prize for solving the molecular structure of DNA.

With those clarifications in mind, The Double Helix is a profitable read. Watson shows us non-scientists that the practice of science is "just" another human endeavor, and not some remote, sterilized activity conducted by emotional eunuchs in white coats. Watson's first-person narrative is downright conversational, as if he's talking shop over a pint of stout in an English pub. He is unabashedly honest about both his ambitions and his naivete (he was only 23 at the time the events in the book took place). And his sometimes scathing portrayals of his colleagues - in all their brilliance and banality - give the impression that working in a world-class research facility is a lot like working anywhere else.

Francis Crick comes across as that certain guy we all knew in college (wherever and whenever that was) - impish and boisterous, egocentric but big-hearted, who might be dapper if he didn't sleep in his clothes, whose eccentricity is the bane of faculty advisors, whose attention is everywhere but on task, whose breath sometimes smells like beer after lunch, and whose serendipitous genius comes through at all the right times. The supporting cast is equally colorful: Maurice Wilkins, the quintessential English academic stuffed corpse; Rosalind Franklin, a Freudian caricature of icy feminine competence in a man's world; the godlike Linus Pauling playing with his tinker toy molecular models in California.

And it wasn't just his colleagues who made Watson's work interesting. There were the aforementioned au pairs, the pubs and the parties and the formal receptions, there was the professional competitiveness between the English and the Americans - with Watson (a Yank in Cambridge) more of an American insurance policy against the Brits getting all the credit for solving DNA if Pauling wasn't fast enough. And there was the Cold War, which had an impact on research priorities and, sometimes, hampered communication in the scientific community.

But most importantly - although Watson never deigns to make this point explicit - The Double Helix is a fascinating chronicle of the scientific method in action, notwithstanding the politics, the distractions, and the idiosyncrasies of the protagonists. The task itself was daunting. Watson and Crick already knew what DNA was composed of, and they knew with some certainty the proportions in which the bases were represented, but there could only be one correct way to put all the pieces together and the haystack was a big one. The researchers were quick to offer and to accept criticism, and false leads were abandoned without regard to ego or sunk time. Even though each wanted to get there first, London shared their findings with Cambridge, Cambridge shared their insights with London, and England and California held nothing from each other for long - admirable examples of the "sociable competition" of science that expedites discovery.

In the end, Watson's and Crick's success relied heavily on Wilkins's and Franklin's crystallography, with important contributions from whomever happened to stop by the lab during the two year period, and insights from conferences and the textbooks and articles Watson happened to read at the time. Creativity, serendipity, and openness to the ideas of others eventually yielded hypotheses, which were tested using Pauling's modeling methods. It could not have been done alone, as Watson makes clear, and the structure of DNA would have been discovered sooner or later. While ultimately it doesn't matter who gets the credit for the discovery, the world seems a better place for James Watson's being involved, if only because The Double Helix is such an entertaining read.

The Double Helix.......2002-10-29

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA written by James D. Watson is a rather engaging with a easily readable down to earth style book on the discovery of the structure of DNA. James D. Watson and Francis Crick worked on the structure of DNA, as did other of the time L. Pauling and R. Franklin were hot on the heals of Watson and Crick.

This is the story of how they made history, a story by a scientist about scientists, this is a superbly human tale of how a very unusual 23 year old American saw his chance for scientific immortality and set out to seize it.

If you like reading about about discovery and how it was done, then you'll like this book. Written in a folksy mannor, this is a book that is thrilling as you get to experience the discovery firsthand. Here you'll read about observation, the suspense of making this discovery before others and the mounting tension associated with science. You'll feel Watson's brilliance come through the narrative, his frank tone mixed with humor all making this a fast read, but never boring.

You'll be transported back to college, Cambridge, off to London and Paris, experience things like wine, movies, and girls, but you'll feel the undertone of scientific politics at its finest. This is a very entertaining book about the beautiful experience of making a great scientific discovery.

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The double helix: A personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA
James D Watson
Manufacturer: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007J2LR4

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The Double Helix : A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000ERH7O6

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The Double Helix...a Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
James D. Watson
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H3JDI0

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The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
James D. Watson
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B0007FM7A4

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Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of Dna
James D. Watson
Manufacturer: ATHENEUM
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJKN5E

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The Double Helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA
JAMES D WATSON
Manufacturer: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORXK88

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The double helix: A personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA
James D Watson
Manufacturer: Readers Union
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006DBHFI

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The Double Helix: a Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of Dna

Manufacturer: new American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HJOHEE

Book Description

This book examines how our understanding of human creativity can be extended by exploring this phenomenon during human evolution and prehistory.

Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory.(Review): An article from: American Antiquity

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Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory.(Review): An article from: American Antiquity
Marcia-Anne Dobres
Manufacturer: Society for American Archaeology
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Antiquity, published by Society for American Archaeology on October 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1040 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory.(Review)
Author: Marcia-Anne Dobres
Publication: American Antiquity (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2000
Publisher: Society for American Archaeology
Volume: 65 Issue: 4 Page: 768

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory

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Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory
Steven J. (EDT) Mithen
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6DBZC

Book Description

Forged of the exquisite gem, the Amber Room is one of the greatest treasures ever made by man–and the subject of one of history’s most intriguing mysteries. German troops invading the Soviet Union seized the Room in 1941. When the Allies bombed, the Room was hidden, and it has never been seen since. But now, the hunt has begun once more.

Atlanta judge Rachel Cutler loves her job and her kids, and remains civil to her ex-husband, Paul. But everything changes when her father dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind clues to a secret about something called the Amber Room. Desperate for the truth, Rachel takes off for Germany with Paul close behind. Before long, they’re in over their heads. Locked into a treacherous game with professional killers, Rachel and Paul find themselves on a collision course with the forces of greed, power, and history itself.

Customer Reviews:

HIGHLY ENTERTAINING THRILLER..........2007-09-09

In this, his debut novel, the author delivers a highly entertaining thriller that will keep the reader compulsively turning the pages. As with all of his books, history plays an important role in the theme of the book. This one focuses a lost treasure known as the "Amber Room".

I myself had no idea what the Amber Room was until I read this book. In 1716, the King of Prussia made a gift of the Amber Room to the then Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great. Apparently, they were panels of amber that were used to wall an entire room. Peter the Great kept the amber panels in storage, until about 1746, when his daughter, the Empress Elizabeth, decided to use the panels to wall a study in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. In 1755, Elizabeth moved the Amber Room from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to what would later be known as the Catherine Palace, where the amber panels were installed. The Amber Room was embellished with semi-precious stones and perfected, a masterpiece of Baroque artistry.

It was there, at Catherine Palace, that the Amber Room remained until 1941, when the Nazis invaded Russia and reclaimed the Amber Room as theirs. The Nazi's had a proclivity for acquiring great works of art from those whom they conquered. At Hitler's express direction, the Amber Room was dismantled, panel by panel, and twenty tons of the precious amber panels were shipped to Germany by truck and rail. The amber panels were eventually installed in Konigsberg Castle, where they remained until early 1945. After Allied bombardment and the march of the Soviet army upon Konigsberg, the amber panels were once again removed, crated, and put on a truck convoy, where they were to have been taken to safety. To this day, its fate remains unknown, as the amber panels were never again seen.

It is around this intriguing real life mystery that the author builds his story. Atlanta judge, Rachel Cutler, and her ex-husband, Paul, get swept away by international intrigue, when Karol Borya, her eighty three year old father dies unexpectedly, leaving behind some intriguing information about the Amber Room. Rachel decides to pick up the trail her father left and head off to Germany, unaware that her movements are being tracked by two competing, ruthless individuals, Suzanne Danzer and Christian Knoll, who are also looking to solve the mystery of the Amber Room. They each hold the position of Aquisitor, a person who works for an individual member of a consortium of nine wealthy individuals known as the Retrievers of Lost Antiquities. The Acquisitor is the one who recovers stolen art treasures on behalf of a member of this consortium for that individual's private collection. They will stop at nothing to get that which they seek. Paul, sensing something is not quite right, joins Rachel in Germany. A dangerous cat and mouse game ensues, as they try to make sense of the hand that fate has dealt them.

There are many twists and turns in this action packed thriller, and a lot of historical information is woven into the fabric of this intricately plotted novel. I was hooked once I read the gripping prologue that sets the tone for the book. I found that I simply could not stop turning the pages of this engrossing thriller. This is a plot driven book, so while it may fall a little short in the area of character development, it does not for one moment diminish the enjoyment that the reader will get from reading this immensely interesting work of fiction. It is simply an amazing debut novel. Those who enjoyed "The Da VInci Code" will, undoubtedly, enjoy this book, as well.

History, bad guys and secrets.......2007-07-26

The Amber Room is a chase novel through Europe in search of a treasure that has been unseen for many a year. The main character in this novel is a woman named Rachel Cutler. She is an Atlanta Judge who finds herself involved in this mysterious race to find the secrets of the treasure.
There are other subplots of the book concerning her ex-husband, her dead father and really bad men who are hot on her tail.

Mediocre thriller.......2007-07-15

This Cross continental thriller pits two professional killers against one another as two prominent art collectors are in search of the Amber Room. It also manages to bring together a couple of divorcees.

The characters are interestingenough, but the story is rather bland and lacks intrigue. Many questions surround what happened to the Amber Room, but I really struggled to find reasons to care about what the true answer is.

The Amber Room.......2007-06-05

Having been to St. Petersburg and Catherine Palace recently, it was a very interesting read. The speculation over what happened to the Amber panels made for a suspenseful story.

Steve Berry Tells a Good Story.......2007-06-01

Steve Berry lives on the Georgia coast in Camden County. He's a lawyer who, for twenty-five years, has helped people both in and out of the courtroom.

The Amber Room is one of the greatest treasures ever made by man-and the subject of one of history's most intriguing mysteries. German troops invading the Soviet Union seized the Room in 1941. When the Allies bombed, the Room was hidden, and it has never been seen since. But are circumstances about to change.

Rachel Cutler loves her job as a judge in Atlanta, well paid and lots of responsibility, just the way she likes it. She loves her kids just as much and has managed to remain on speaking terms with Paul, her ex-husband. But her life is turned upside down when her father dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind him clues to a secret about something called the Amber Room.

Desperate to get to the truth, not only about her father's death, but the secret he has left behind him Rachel heads off to Germany with Paul close behind her. Before long, they're in over their heads. Locked into a treacherous game with professional killers, Rachel and Paul find themselves on a collision course with the forces of greed, power, and a secret going back in time . . .

The Amber Room (Priceless Collection Series #2)

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If you love history, you'll enjoy this...
The Original Amber Room
A Wonderful Christian Fiction Novel
Great Christian Book
Boring and misleading

The Amber Room (Priceless Collection Series #2)
T. Davis Bunn
Manufacturer: Bethany House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1556612850

Book Description

The official claim stated the priceless treasure was destroyed in the aftermath of World War II, but an obscure document in an East German file may tell another story for-The Amber Room

It was a legendary room an ensemble of precious eighteenth-century wall panels that graced a tsarist palace in St. Petersburg. Then it was stolen by Nazi invaders and carried off to a castle in East Prussia. Called by some the "eighth wonder of the world," the treasure was last seen in 1945 during the chaotic scramble of men and borders during the end of World War II. Official statements concluded the Amber Room was destroyed by the ravages of fire, like so much of Europe's art and antiques during the war. The case was closed.

But while the East Germans sang freedom songs before the Stasi headquarters in Leipzig, one man was desperately searching through old Communist files for anything appearing the least bit important. Little did he know that one of the stolen files would contain a forty-seven-year-old document which could possibly reopen the door to the Amber Room.

From their high-priced London antique shop, Alexander Kantor and his assistant Jeffrey Sinclair have made deep contacts into the secret treasure troves of Europe, particularly the former Eastern Bloc nations. With the disappearance of a medieval chalice that carries an unexpected secret, they are pulled into a trail of intrigue and cover-ups that surround the Amber Room.

In the web of deception and danger, even more priceless

Customer Reviews:

If you love history, you'll enjoy this..........2006-11-26

I had never heard of the Amber Room, but I learned a lot about the history of E. Europe after WWII (and during the war). I think this book would be great to follow the Thoene novels such as Vienna Prelude, Warsaw Requiem, etc. I encourage you to read it.

The Original Amber Room.......2003-09-20

I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful book. The topics covered here are enlightening both from a historical as well as a religious perspective.

A Wonderful Christian Fiction Novel.......2001-08-24

I Love this book, in fact the Priceless trilogy is indeed just that - Priceless. The real treasure in this book has nothing to do with amber - the best find of a lifetime is a relationship with God. T. Davis Bunn is a fabulous writer. This book has intrigue, romance and is very enjoyable.

Great Christian Book.......2000-06-28

This was a very interesing book with a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Obviously, the other reviewers weren't looking for a good Christain novel. T. Davis Bunn is a Christian author, therefore you should expect all of his books to be very religious. Bunn is one of the best Christian novelists I have ever read!

Boring and misleading.......2000-04-29

Having been fascinated for years by the mystery of the Amber Room, I was really disappointed with this book. The title itself is completely misleading - there's not much about the Amber Room (or very little that anyone reading a few history books couldn't find out for themselves). Instead, what do we get - a lot of detail about some medieval chalice in Poland and a lot of discussion about religion and faith - fine in their place, but not a reason to buy this book. Completely agree with your previous reviewer, Sandra Juqua - I also had to struggle to finish the book. To conclude, there is a book that remains to be written about the Amber Room - however, this is NOT it!

The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure

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Thorough, responsible, a bit repetitive
Good Book
What Do You Already Know
The Amber Room
More of the same

The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000GG4G5S

Book Description

One of mankind's greatest treasures, the Amber Room stood as a symbol of Russian glory for over two hundred years. But after the Nazi invasion, it was never seen again.

Now, in a masterpiece of detection, investigative journalists Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy have at last unraveled the jumble of evidence surrounding the Amber Room's fate. Journeying through the former Soviet bloc, and exploring archives in St. Petersburg and Berlin, they reveal what happened to the most valuable lost treasure in the world-and why the truth has been withheld for so long. Their revelations have broken a conspiracy of lies by the Russians who, for decades, have blamed the Amber Room's disappearance on the widespread looting of Nazi Germany, rather than face the shocking truth.

Customer Reviews:

Thorough, responsible, a bit repetitive.......2007-09-09

On the whole, I enjoyed this book because I am interested in art history, the political history of WWII and the Cold War, and mysteries. I did feel, however, that the the authors could have trusted us to remember people and events a bit more than they did. There was a fair amount of restatement and reintroduction. The speculative conclusion they arrive at seems reasonable. The authors display a keen understanding of human nature and the possible motives leading to the disinformation campaign surrounding the fate of the Amber Room.

Good Book.......2007-05-22

I loved this book. It is a good example of good research, good journalism and great writing. Must Read for all History Buff.

What Do You Already Know.......2007-04-06

The question titling this review is the one a potential reader needs to ask prior to choosing this book. The story of this astonishing work of art, gifted by Frederick I to Peter the Great, has been the basis for many books both scholarly and purely fictional. While this book is non-fiction it is not one I would recommend to anyone that is unfamiliar with this topic. The room that is the title of this book can be viewed online as it has been reconstructed, and once seen the viewer has a right to expect a written history of this fantastic creation that both approaches the unique beauty of the art itself and the incredible journey the room may have taken.

The mystery/history of the real Amber Room has all the makings of the most remarkable of fictional thrillers, and while the authors present a sturdy, competent narrative, the book never gets very interesting. The prose is dull and does as much of a disservice to the true tale that black and white photographs do to the real Amber Room.

The book also suffers from a constant handicap of; wishing for something just does not make it so, every attempt at breathless suspense reads as labored, contrived and often very predictable. If you have never read about this topic search elsewhere as the subject is fascinating, if you are already a reader of books on this tale again you should look further before adding this to your reading list.

The Amber Room.......2007-01-10

I initially read this book because I wanted to find out about the Amber Room and because I had read a reveiw of it that made it sound like an intriguing mystery story. The book is written by journalists and reads that way. It is not a scholarly book, althought the people who wrote it did do a lot of research. While I learned about the Amber Room, what I really learned about was the culture of secrecy that existed and maybe still exists in E. Germany, W. Germany and the USSR. While there were times I wished I didn't have to read another 20 pages only to be told that the writers had reached a dead-end (!!), I began to realize that the main part of their story was the journey they were taking, were the dead ends and the reasons for those dead ends. This is an interesting picture of Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1990's as well as a story about what happened to the Amber Room after WWII.

More of the same.......2006-09-17

These two authors wrote another book (The Stone of Heaven) about their search for 'lost' jade and it, too, was more about them and their search than the titled mineral and its history. After reading 'Stone of Heaven', I felt I had been conned. Sucker that I am, I tried again with 'Amber Room', only to have that feeling confirmed. I was hoping against hope that this book - on a subject for which there is ample historical information available elsewhere - would really be about the Amber Room. Alas, more of the same. Save your money, look up the topic in Wikipedia and know that you have missed nothing by not reading this book.

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Amber Room
Christopher Matthew
Manufacturer: Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1856194477

4 Titles By Steve Berry - The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy, The Third Secret, The Templar Legacy

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4 Titles By Steve Berry - The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy, The Third Secret, The Templar Legacy
Steve Berry
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W3VCM0

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The Amber Room
Steve Berry
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVJVKU

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Amber Room
Steve Berry
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVHS9G

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The Amber Room
T. Davis Bunn
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RZP6EI

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The Amber Room
Adrian Levy , and Kathy Scott Clark
Manufacturer: Atlantic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1843540355

Average customer rating:

The Amber Room
Christopher Matthew
Manufacturer: Book Club Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OIMBXC

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