by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): As much as this is a memoir of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s life, it is even more so a memoir of infectious diseases over the past 50 years.
Fauci, who became the calm and reasoned medical face of COVID—in a time that was otherwise chaotic, confusing, and terrifying—has far more on his curriculum vitae than COVID. He was just as influential in solving the mysteries of HIV/AIDS, SARS, anthrax, West Nile virus, Ebola, Zika, and any number of worldwide influenza outbreaks, and while these horrible infectious diseases are an integral part of this book, the most interesting section is on COVID.
This is a fascinating and highly readable account of not only this great physician’s life in medicine, but also his personal life. Read this book, and you’ll meet a Dr. Fauci you never knew. He is a man devoted to public service.
In addition to his commendable clinical skills as an infectious disease physician, Fauci has two other qualities that most likely accounted for his rapid rise within the National Institutes of Health where he became director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID): First, he is able to explain in understandable layman’s terms even the most complex medical issues. Second, he is courageous enough to speak truth to power—namely every president since Ronald Reagan—all while deftly skirting politics. He won the utmost and undying respect of every administration—Republican and Democrat alike—until Donald J. Trump.
The stories of his experiences of working with Trump, which included Fauci publicly contradicting Trump when the president mangled or outright lied about COVID, and then after Trump left office in 2021 and MAGA devotees repeatedly threatening him and his family are harrowing and horrific. He was the victim of an ugly smear campaign ignited by bizarre and egregious conspiracy theories, including being publicly accused by a U.S. senator that Fauci was personally responsible for the virus that caused COVID.
From his baseball days in the sandlots of Brooklyn to his marathon medals as an adult, from his Catholic elementary school to his medical school and residency, we learn so much about what shaped the man Fauci became. He even digresses to tell his “meet cute” story about his beloved wife, Christine Grady. The book isn’t all about medical charts and White House briefings.
My takeaway: We as a nation have been so fortunate to have someone as skilled and truthful as Dr. Fauci looking after us all these decades. I salute you, sir, and thank you for your public service to the United States of America.
Bonus: The story of U2’s Bono coming to dinner at Dr. Fauci’s Washington, D.C. house is alone worth the price of the book. Bono wanted to discuss with Fauci ideas for HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care in sub-Saharan Africa. Fauci didn’t tell his three daughters (then ages 16, 13, and 10) Bono was having dinner with them until the superstar arrived knocking at the door. The girls’ reaction is laugh-out-loud funny.
