Matt Ridley's response to Horace Freeland Judson's inaccurate review in "Nature"

"Dear Horace,

In your review of my book in 'Nature', you accused me of `swarms' of factual errors. You cited only two:

1. That I had called Eliot Volkin and Lazarus Astrachan Russian.

2. That I had called Jacques Monod, in passing among many other things, a communist.

I did not call Volkin and Astrachan Russian. As is clear from my description of their experiment, the two Russian scientists I refer to on page 109 of my book were Belozerskii and Spirin, who, according to your own book `The Eighth Day of Creation', worked in Moscow and were Russian.

You yourself admit in your review that Monod joined the communist party.

So both your allegations of error were themselves factual errors.

I am sure you know that for a writer to be accused in print of errors and `reprehensible distortion' is an unpleasant experience, made worse if the allegation is entirely false. I hope you will be kind enough to apologise.

Incidentally, one error in my book has recently come to light. I say  that Crick's `What Mad Pursuit' seminar was given in 1950. I got this from your book. Georgina Ferry, in researching her biography of Max Perutz, has concluded that it was in 1951. 

Matt"