FROM IST 4#.16,1993 6:18

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Institute for Scientific Information’

4501 Market Straat @ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 U.S.A. (215) 386.0100 m Telex: 84-5305 M@ Fax: (215) 387-1268

Eugene Garfleld, Ph.D.
PRESIDENT

November 6, 1992

Dr. Bernard D. Davis
Bacterial Physiology Unit
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115

Dear Bernie:

I’ve just finished reading your autobiographical essay in the
1992 Annual Review of Microbiology and rush to tell you how much
I enjoyed this. I started out while exercising on the treadmill
and then finished it at heme on the weekend.

I don’t know Lf you are aware how interested I’ve been in this
genre. When Bob Day was head of ISI Press, I tried to gat him
to start a journal of scientific autobiography but it never got
off the ground. There have been many books published since then
but I still feel that my journal idea could fly. Of course,

Citation Classics® has been my contribution to this aspect of
the literature.

I was prompted to investigate your work and have found that you
have several publications that would qualify as classics.

I specifically investigated your text beok “Micreblolegy” ana
was not surprised that it was cited over 900 times. I’m sending
you a printout showing your partial citation record, as we have
it. This would not include any mention of your books. In fact,
to do a complete citation analysis of your work, we would have

to check not only the ScI® but also the S$SCI®. The enclosed
printout is only upto 1990.

/ tou 1950 paper in Journal of Bacteriology has been cited over

2,700 times and we would be honored if you would write a

commentary on this Citation Classic®, I am enclosing the usual
information and guideline package we send out to authors.

All of the above leads me to ask you whether you could imagine
condensing your already condensed autoblography into a Current
Contents® essay, There are so many aspects of your life that, I
believe, would find resonance with our readers. Clearly we

would want to reduce or eliminate some of the nore technical
information.
FROM ISI

44.16.1993 16:19

To : Dr. B. D. Davis
Page : 2

I was fascinated to learn of your connections with go many
{illustrious names in modern aoience. If any of this interests
you, let me know and we can discuss the details involved in a
¢c® essay because I would have to reduce the amount of
biographical treatment I usually provide in my introductions to
ether C¢® guest essays.

Best wishes,

EG /MM

Encl: -letter of invitation and guidelines for Citation Classic®
commentary.
-printout showing citation counts.

ec E. Thurschwell

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