Carroll, I Googled Lewontin and the sentence you mentioned and got the following exchange in letters column from 1983: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1983/apr/28/the-corpse-in-the-elevator-an-exchange/?pagination=false This is a discussion of Lewontin's The Corpse in the Elevator January 20, 1983 Against Biological Determinism Dialectics of Biology Group, edited by Steven Rose Towards a Liberatory Biology Dialectics of Biology Group, edited by Steven Rose which seems to be: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1983/jan/20/the-corpse-in-the-elevator/ One of these should have what you need. best sam -----Original Message----- From: Carrol Cox <[log in to unmask]> To: SCIENCE-FOR-THE-PEOPLE <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Fri, Jun 29, 2012 10:48 pm Subject: Query Years ago there was an article by Richard Lewontin in the NYRB which, among other things, pointed out that the statement "Germs cause disease" was incorrect. Of course in an issue or two there was a lively dispute in the letters over that. I'm sure I downloaded the article, but I can't find it. I don't remember the title or which decade it was published in. If someone can help me on this I will be grateful. Carrol