Sir

There is an alternative explanation for the cause of citation errors to that offered by Nicholas Price ( Nature 395, 538; 1998 ).

In 1957, I was the author, with R. J. H. Beverton, of a book (On the Dynamics of Exploited Fish Populations, HMSO) which, according to citation indexes, is still the most cited reference in fisheries science. We both occasionally wondered why that should be when the book was long out of print — until republished in 1993 — and not readily available outside specialized libraries. It seemed that it became ‘politically correct’ for newcomers to our field to cite our work, and a considerable proportion of them had clearly never read or even seen it, as we could tell from internal evidence in their publications.

So one or two incorrect references reproduced themselves; they were not mistakes or typos or due to simple carelessness. Naturally, we were proud of our citation records, but, as we say here, it is un po' esagerata.