Book excerpt: was the result of the efforts of Robert Cleverdon. The rapidly developing discipline of molecular biology and the rapidly expanding knowledge of the PPLO were brought together at this meeting. In addition to the PPLO specialists, the conference invited Julius Marmur to compare PPLO DNA to DNA of other organisms; David Garfinkel, who was one of the first to develop computer models of metabolism; Cyrus Levinthal to talk about coding; and Henry Quastler to discuss information theory constraints on very small cells. The conference was an announcement of the role of PPLO in the fundamental understanding of molecular biology. Looking back 40-some years to the Connecticut meeting, it was a rather bold enterprise. The meeting was international and inter-disciplinary and began a series of important collaborations with influences resonating down to the present. If I may be allowed a personal remark, it was where I first met Shmuel Razin, who has been a leading figure in the emerging mycoplasma research and a good friend. This present volume is in some ways the fulfillment of the promise of that early meeting. It is an example of the collaborative work of scientists in building an understanding of fundamental aspects of biology.