Avoid Boring People

• James D. Watson is one of the greatest living scientists. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 for his part in the discovery of the structure of DNA.
• A candid reflection on the lessons learnt during an extraordinary career in science.
• Full of fascinating insights into science, scientists, laboratories, fame, and how to succeed in both science and life.
• Watson describes the varied experiences of his scientific life, and alongside the stories and anecdotes he dispenses lessons in life - ranging from the wise to the witty and eccentric, each as insightful as the next.
• Entertainingly written, combining popular science with stories told with real momentum and humour.
• Conveys the passions, rivalries, and friendships of working during of the most exciting junctures of 20th century science, with many of the most important scientists of the time.
• Brings the story right up to date with an epilogue discussing his own views on the resignation of Larry Summers from Harvard - an affair that hit the media in 2006 and touched on issues ranging from the direction of academic research to the explosively controversial issue of the intellectual differences between men, and women, and different races.

Readership: General readers of memoirs and biography, particularly scientific biography. Readers of popular science, scientists, and those interested in 20th century science history. This book will especially appeal to those who have enjoyed Watson's previous books, particularly his bestselling The Double Helix and A Passion for DNA.

James D. Watson, Chancellor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

"It's never dull." - The Herald (Glasgow)

"A lively and provocative book." - Financial Times, Books of the Year

"Scientists will find the book most interesting." - Irish Times

"The story is frank, personal, revealing and sometimes entertaining." - Peter Lawrence, Literary Review

"...a deliciously detailed account of his life...Watson remains one of the most fascinating scientists of our time, as iconic in some respects as his double helix." - Nature

1: Manners acquired as a child (Chicago's South Side)
2: Manners learned while an undergraduate
3: Manners picked up in graduate school
4: Manners followed by the Phage Group
5: Manners passed on to an apprentice scientist
6: Manners needed for important science
7: Manners practiced as an untenured professor
8: Manners deployed for academic zing
9: Manners noticed as a dispensable White House advisor
10: Manners appropriate for a Nobel Prize
11: Manners demanded by academic ineptitude
12: Manners behind for readable books
13: Manners required for academic civility
14: Manners displayed to hold two jobs
15: Manners felt reluctantly leaving Harvard
Epilogue