Most of these consultants, contacted this week, reacted favorably to the text.

Richard E. Pipes Baird Professor of History and a former staff member of Reagan's National Security Council, praised the report as "a major charge from what you could have expected five or seven years ago. Back then it would have been more idealistic and hortatory."

Called Lucid and Fair

Abram Chayes, Frankfurter Professor of Law and an authority on international law, called "Living with Nuclear Weapons" a "lucid and fair statement. I think it will be a standard book on these issues." He added that he had criticized early drafts as "over-Hobbesian," but the authors later assured him that "that had been toned down."

Everett I. Mendelsohn. Professor of the History of Science, a leading disarmament advocate, said that the book was "thoughtfully made," has criticized it "for giving the are one language of nuclear strategy the Harvard imprimatur."

" I think it was a waste of some of the good intellectual resources of people in the study group," Mendelsohn added. "I think Harvard could have performed a real service by giving us a book outlining what steps must be taken to get rid of the bomb."

The authors agreed that writing a book on the complex topic of nuclear weapons by committee posed special difficulties.

"We faced an inherent problem in trying to clarify and simplify a complex subject for the general public, yet still produce something that was collectively authored," Huntington said.

"It was a hectic process," said co-author Joseph S. Nye Jr., professor of Government. "We had some marathon sessions where we met for 13 hours at a stretch. It's remarkable that we were to successful."

Authors emphasized that Sagan played a key rule in the book's preparation. Hoffmann praised the graduate student for his "extraordinary effort" in writing tough drafts and serving as the group's recording secretary.

But the scholars denied that any one person had sole claim to any part of the book.

"We all contributed equally," Huntington said. "Each chapter is the work of several hands."

Hoffmann also noted that despite extended debate within the group, "miraculously we ended up with our personal relations intact We even came to appreciate others views better, and in that sense it was a great project."

Neither the group for the University but settled on plans to promote the luck through public appearances by the authors, Sagan said. But he added that the group will appear together at an abnormal symposiums on nuclear issues June 11.

The professors and Sagan will all receive royalties from the book, Nye said. Hoffmann added that the authors had already received an advance payment from the publishers, but he noted, "It's not exactly enough to buy a country house, even if we all put out shares together."