12 December 1955

Dear Peter:

I have just read a review of the book "Mr. Guy's Hospital, 1726-1948," by Dr. H. C. Cameron, Green and Co., London, 1954, 30 shillings, I should like to have a copy of this book. Would you buy it for me, and mail it?

I received a note from Mott, in answer to my letter. His note is very brief. He says that there was no need for me to write to tell him that Kendrew and Perutz were doing excellent work.

While you are at it, would you also send me a copy of the book "Challenge and Answer," by Prof. Alexander Haddow, Bertrand Russel, Lord Beveridge, and Henry Usborne, London: B. T. Baxford, Ltd., 1955, 25 shillings.

I enclose my check for $136, corresponding to the approximately 48 pounds, my bill for books, binders, etc with you. I thank you very much for arranging to have these items sent to me.

By the way, would you check about a bit, to see whether there would be any difficulty in our keeping an account in a British bank, in order to make it convenient to pay for various items there. I suggest that you keep your account - perhaps I could advance a few hundred dollars to you, to be kept in an account in London, permitting you to send me items that I want, even after you have left.

Would you be good enough to hunt up the fourth Daily Telegraph crossword puzzle book, in the Penguin Series, and mail a copy to us? Mama had worked about fifteen of the puzzles in the book, and then last week when we went to Texas I put it in the pocket of my coat, and apparently dropped it in the plane, when I pulled my scarf out of the pocket. She had finished one of the puzzles except for one word, and she would like to know whether she has thought of the right word for this vacant place. Also, she is planning to work the rest of the puzzles, in the course of time - she prefers the Daily Telegraph puzzles to all of the others. Most of the others are too easy, or not precise enough in their definitions. Time and Tide is too hard - we haven't been able to get a single one of the puzzles completed. The Daily Telegraph is about right.

I think that I shall write to Howard Dintzis, offering him a job. I am not sure that I told you that Corey and I have decided to make a really vigorous attack on the problem of the structure of a globular protein. We have a couple of new ideas, which are, we hope, to permit the job to be done - at any rate, we think that a vigorous attack on the problem has about a fifty percent chance of succeeding in ten years.

Mama and I drove to Berkeley about ten days ago, and then drove back by the coast route. Then we suddenly decided to go to Texas. A symposium on quantum mechanics applied to molecules had been scheduled for three days, 7 to 9 December. We took the night plane, and came home on Saturday afternoon, four days later. Coulson was there, also Longuet-Biggins, and several other people from Europe, including Daudel, Mrs. Daudel, Pierman, and Hans Kuhn and his wife. I was rather disappointed to have the opinion verified that the molecular quantum mechanics people are not learning very much at the present time.

Crellin came home for Thanksgiving. We expect him home in a few days now, for the Christmas holidays.

[Linus Pauling]