stimulating introduction to a school of thinking and a body of research
that is not widely known or easily accessible to us. His attempt to
provide a unify- ing theory of sensory receptor mechanisms based on
evolutionary principles is unique and imaginative. Among the joys of a
career in science is the opportunity to rub shoulders with people of
outstanding intellectual power and, with luck, to have the privilege of
their friendship. In May of 1979 I visited the U.S.S.R. as a guest
lecturer in chemical senses. During the 8 days that I spent in the
beautiful city of Leningrad I had the great good fortune to become
acquainted with Yakov Abramovich Vinnikov, and we quickly became good
friends. A dinner party at his apartment is among the warmest of my
memories, and nothing could please me more than to have the opportunity
to introduce him in per- son to my colleagues in Western Europe, the
Americas, Japan, and Australia. That, I am sorry to say, is a most
unlikely eventuality. For the time being, introducing his fertile mind
through this book is the best I can do.