HARVARD UNIVERSITY
THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES

      16 DIVINITY AVENUE
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02138

24 March 1967

Dr. Francis Crick
M.R.C. Unit for Molecular Biology
The Medical School
Hills Road
Cambridge, England

Dear Francis:

  I have asked Harvard University Press to send you a copy of my
newest version of Honest Jim.  I believe you shall find that I have
revised the MS to meet virtually every specifid objection contained
in your long letter of March `66.  I should have liked to send you
a new version much sooner, but, given the school year and the fact
that it is easierto revise after a long interval away from the pre-
vious efforts, this is the quickest I was capable of.

  Here I shall not go into the general principles involved in
creating this type of book.  I fear we are bound to disagree. I will
only say that it is the almost unanimous advice (.-@/SO) of many
friends (most of whom also know you well and know of your and Maurice's
specific objections) that I should go ahead.  I'm sure that they would
not have so advised me if they felt its publication would be at all
harmful to you or against the spirit of contemporary science. .

  As for other new's, repressors dominate the atmosphere here.  Wally
now appears to have the lac repressor sticking to its specific DNA.
My father has had a serious operation for an ulcer but now' is quite
well.  Because of his illness I went several times to Florida. Except
for that I've done little travelling, though it now' looks like the Ford
Foundation will send me to Turkey for the first part of May.

  Of course I shall be interested in your reaction to the new version.
I seriously think it is much better, both literarily and scientifically,,
and I hope you shall find it more acceptable.

With best regards to Odile,

Yours sincerely,

JJ

J.D. Watson

cc: Sir Lawrence Bragg
T.J. Wilson, Harvard University Press

JDW/sma