Nothing that "Thernstrom's investigative work has revealed a lot of things we didn't know at the time" such as the diaries, Epps said the administration learned from the crisis "more what students needed from us in a crisis" than about the two students who had died.

Thernstrom's allegations also include lack of support structures for international students and criticisms of Liem whose house experienced two other suicides that year.

"[T]he murder happened in the most troubled of Harvard houses, under the reign of the master least equipped to deal with it," Thernstrom writes.

Some of Thernstrom's sharpest criticism were reserved for Liem.

"Liem was a man much more adept at classifying dead sea-life than dealing with human problems,"she writes.

Liem, teaching at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories this summer, did not reply to phone calls or faxes.

Although Thernstrom presents extended testimonials from three other students as evidence of what she terms "Harvard's incompetence at dealing with students suffering from serious psychiatric disorders," David S. Rosenthal '59, director of University Health Services (UHS), said UHS is responsive to such illnesses.

"We know depression exists in this age group. We know it's no different here than anywhere else. We don't live in a black box," he said.

Rosenthal characterized Thernstrom as a "competent writer" but questioned the validity of drawing conclusions about mental health services at the University based on the few testimonies she cited. "I'm sure she wouldn't interview those who were happy with UHS."

The purpose of the book was not to say what could have been done but rather to outline what actually happened, Thernstrom said last night.

At the time she was researching, Thernstrom said officials characterized Tadesse as a student who had no problems and showed no warning signs.

"It's not true to say this was totally out of the blue," she said. "[Tadesse] did become mentally ill over a period of time at school.