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I read a book in the late 70s or early 80s, there was an alien lizard who comes to Earth. He became a celebrity scientist but then fell from grace.

I have looked for this book or some reference to it for over 20 years. I just stumbled into this website just now. Does anyone know the the title, author, or anything about this book?

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    Please try to remember more about the story. How big was the alien lizard? Was it male or female? As a scientist, was it an astronomer, chemist, geologist, physicist, biologist, psychologist? Did it fall from grace for scientific misconduct (plagiarism, falsifying data) or some other reason? Was the story set in the near future? Was it a "first contact" story? The lizard scientist was the first and only space alien humanity had ever seen? Or was it set in a Star Trek type future, with lots of communication between humans and aliens? Was the story humorous or serious?
    – user14111
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 2:29
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    "Fell from grace" looks like an inconscious echo of A Case of Conscience by James Blish, which even ends with an exorcism.
    – LSerni
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 12:33

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A Case of Conscience by James Blish?

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    Could you clarify the reason why you think this is the work OP is looking for? Maybe with a synopsis or relevant excerpts.
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 10:00
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    Yes, that could be it, but the OP might not recognize the author and title. Please describe the book, especially the part about the alien on earth.
    – user14111
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 10:15
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    Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man--a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics . . . until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief.
    – Valorum
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 11:10

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