In this unique volume 23 physicians, all accomplished historians, write autobiographically about their use of history in medical practice. The medical uses of history vary from help in making a brilliant diagnosis or deciding on effective treatment to consolation and encouragement, not with tales of triumph but with reminders of the timelessness of medical uncertainty, weariness, and despair. History also prescribes a sobering antidote for the arrogance that tracks medical existence like an occupational hazard, and it eases the journey across boundaries of time, culture, race, and experience.