Science: He Believes ...

Personally, halo-haired Linus Pauling, "59, is regarded by those who know him as a gracious gentleman. Professionally, Nobel Prizewinner Pauling, professor of chemistry at Caltech, is recognized as one of the world's most eminent scientists. Politically, Pauling's naive flirtation with the left has made him a highly controversial figure, viewed by many as a kind of kook.

Pauling's scientific credentials are of unalloyed gold. He won his 1954 Nobel Prize for his explanation of the chemical forces that make atoms stick together as the molecules that are the stuff of all matter. His...

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