O n Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is an inspirational and informative book that provides illuminating context, both personal and historical, for the major events the author experienced during his almost 60 yr as a physician, scientist, administrator, and public health official. The passionate and energetic Dr. Fauci, now approaching 84 yr of age, retired in late December 2022, after having served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland since 1984. During that interval, he advised seven presidents and guided the country through such catastrophic events as the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and influenza, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and potential bioterrorism threats involving anthrax and smallpox.
The book’s title, On Call, evokes the sentiments expressed by the great physician, Sir William Osler (1849 to 1919) in his...