Today no molecular biologist knows all the important facts about the gene. This was not the case in 1965 when the first edition of Molecular Biology of the Gene appeared. Then there were few practicing molecular biologists and not too many facts to learn. So what we knew about DNA and RNA could easily be explained to beginning college students. .....
It is only in this fourth edition that we see the extraordinary fruits of the recombinant DNA revolution. Hardly any contemporary experiment on gene structure or function is done today without recourse to ever more powerful methods for cloning and sequencing genes. As a result, we are barraged daily by arresting new facts of such importance that we seldom can relax long enough to take comfort in the accomplishments of the immediate past. The science described in this edition is by any measure an extraordinary example of human achievement.
Because of the immense breadth of today's research on the gene, none of us can speak with real authority except in those areas where our own research efforts are concentrated. Thus it was clear from the first discussions about the fourth edition that writing it would be beyond the capability of any one scientist who also had other major responsibilities. So the task of preparing this edition has required taking to keep the book within a manageable length; even by adopting a larger page format, we saw no way not to exceed a thousand pages. DNA can no longer be portrayed with the grandeur it deserves in a handy volume that would be pleasant to carry across a campus. .......

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Watson, J.D., Hopkins, N.H., Roberts, J.W., Steitz, J.A. & Weiner, A.M., Molecular Biology of the Gene, Fourth edition, Volume I General Principles, Benjamin/Cummings, 1987