In response to:

The Charms of Catastrophe from the June 15, 1978 issue

To the Editors:

As publisher of Rene Thom. Structural Stability and Morphogenesis: An Outline of a General Theory of Models and E.C. Zeeman, Catastrophe Theory: Selected Papers, 1972-1977, we found of absorbing interest Martin Gardner’s “The Charms of Catastrophe” in the June 15. 1978 issue. For the record, may we confirm that Professor Thom’s first book on catastrophe theory was published, in French (not in France), by W.A. Benjamin, Inc., Advanced Book Program, Reading, Massachusetts, in 1972 (Stabilite Structurelle et Morphogénèses Essai d’une Théorie Générale des Mudèles). The considerable attention given the subject prompted the publication of the English edition, updated by the author.

Both the volumes by Professors Thom and Zeeman were issued by the Advanced Book Program, a division of Addison Wesley.

Lore Henlein

Director, Advanced Book Program

Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.

Reading, Massachusetts

This Issue

October 26, 1978