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On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service
The memoir by the doctor who became a beacon of hope for millions through the COVID pandemic, and whose six-decade career in high-level public service put him in the room with seven presidents
“An eventful autobiography [and] a classic American story…Gripping.”—The Washington Post
“One of the most consequential and most prominent [careers] in American medicine in the past fifty years.”—Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker
Anthony Fauci is arguably the most famous – and most revered – doctor in the world today. His role guiding America sanely and calmly through Covid (and through the torrents of Trump) earned him the trust of millions during one of the most terrifying periods in modern American history, but this was only the most recent of the global epidemics in which Dr. Fauci played a major role. His crucial role in researching HIV and bringing AIDS into sympathetic public view and his leadership in navigating the Ebola, SARS, West Nile, and anthrax crises, make him truly an American hero.
His memoir reaches back to his boyhood in Brooklyn, New York, and carries through decades of caring for critically ill patients, navigating the whirlpools of Washington politics, and behind-the-scenes advising and negotiating with seven presidents on key issues from global AIDS relief to infectious disease preparedness at home. ON CALL will be an inspiration for listeners who admire and are grateful to him and for those who want to emulate him in public service. He is the embodiment of “speaking truth to power,” with dignity and results.
“An eventful autobiography [and] a classic American story…Gripping.”—The Washington Post
“One of the most consequential and most prominent [careers] in American medicine in the past fifty years.”—Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker
Anthony Fauci is arguably the most famous – and most revered – doctor in the world today. His role guiding America sanely and calmly through Covid (and through the torrents of Trump) earned him the trust of millions during one of the most terrifying periods in modern American history, but this was only the most recent of the global epidemics in which Dr. Fauci played a major role. His crucial role in researching HIV and bringing AIDS into sympathetic public view and his leadership in navigating the Ebola, SARS, West Nile, and anthrax crises, make him truly an American hero.
His memoir reaches back to his boyhood in Brooklyn, New York, and carries through decades of caring for critically ill patients, navigating the whirlpools of Washington politics, and behind-the-scenes advising and negotiating with seven presidents on key issues from global AIDS relief to infectious disease preparedness at home. ON CALL will be an inspiration for listeners who admire and are grateful to him and for those who want to emulate him in public service. He is the embodiment of “speaking truth to power,” with dignity and results.
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First published June 18, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,616 reviews
June 23, 2024
Having been an admirer of Dr. Fauci for years pre-Covid, I truly enjoyed this book. It's heavy on the science, but, unlike many GR reviewers, I didn't skip over any of it. My scientific background is in inorganic chemistry rather than biology, and I relished Dr. Fauci's very readable gift of teaching; I finally understood why a vaccine for HIV/AIDS was and is highly unlikely as well as the mechanics of the development of mRNA vaccines and the journeys through Ebola, Zika, and Covid.
This is not to neglect Dr. Fauci's personal story: his dedication to his professional goals of practicing physician and public service; his unswerving patriotism in service to his country through seven presidents; his resolute honesty in the face of political pressure, even his canniness in the search for dollars to fund research, prevention, treatment, and cure. In sixty years as a physician, fifty years in public health, Dr. Fauci shows himself to be a man who knows himself. He is comfortable with who he is and the often difficult choices he has made, and credits his family and the sometimes unlikely friendships he has made (I'm thinking of ACT UP) for sustaining him in his lifetime of selfless service. He is indeed a national treasure for all humankind.
This is not to neglect Dr. Fauci's personal story: his dedication to his professional goals of practicing physician and public service; his unswerving patriotism in service to his country through seven presidents; his resolute honesty in the face of political pressure, even his canniness in the search for dollars to fund research, prevention, treatment, and cure. In sixty years as a physician, fifty years in public health, Dr. Fauci shows himself to be a man who knows himself. He is comfortable with who he is and the often difficult choices he has made, and credits his family and the sometimes unlikely friendships he has made (I'm thinking of ACT UP) for sustaining him in his lifetime of selfless service. He is indeed a national treasure for all humankind.
June 21, 2024
Traitor! Enough said.
June 22, 2024
Dr. Tony Fauci has written a brilliant, candid, autobiography which captures the axioms of two giants of medicine; William Osler,”Medicine is an art based on science” and Francis Peabody, Caring for the patient is caring about the patient”. The book describes and makes accessible the complexities of infectious disease and public health and illuminates Dr. Fauci’s commitment to excellence, and his care, concern, empathy, honesty and objectivity. The book is wonderful elixir for the many who are depressed by the unsettling times we live in. We are indeed fortunate to have Tony Fauci, On Call !
July 22, 2024
This man has a God complex. He has killed millions of people by taking our tax dollars and giving it to China to do gain of function experiments. (Gain of function- is changing a virus so it can infect humans). He needs to be in prison!
June 30, 2024
Maybe a little too in the weeds for the average reader, but fascinating if you’re interested in public health or public service. A large portion of the book is about HIV/AIDS, and it shows what good people can accomplish on a worldwide scale through effective government.
(I don’t usually give star ratings, but gotta cancel out the non-readers’ votes)
(I don’t usually give star ratings, but gotta cancel out the non-readers’ votes)
June 21, 2024
outstanding!
wow! I knew Dr Fauci was an amazing doc, but his and his teams dedicated research over the year has saved literally millions of people. We were lucky to have him through so many challenges.
wow! I knew Dr Fauci was an amazing doc, but his and his teams dedicated research over the year has saved literally millions of people. We were lucky to have him through so many challenges.
June 23, 2024
Just wow. I wish I could give it 50 stars. What an inspiring story by a truly humble public servant who has given his life to making our country and world a better place. The only sad thing is that it will not be read by those who might gain the most from it.
July 1, 2024
Dr. Fauci is a true American hero. He is a stellar example of the “deep state” that DJT and many elected Republicans rail against and want to clean out. God help America if they succeed. These are the world experts, not just in medicine but in all spheres of life, that keep us safe and prosperous. We owe them thanks not thuggery.
June 21, 2024
Fauci is a true hero who has spent his entire life making us healthier and fighting diseases. His book is very thoughtful and quite engaging. Loved it
July 22, 2024
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
ON CALL: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci, M.D. is the autobiography of the most interesting public health doctor/scientist who has served this country for many decades. Stories from his personal life and friendships, his dedication to medicine and public health, and his attempt to remain politically neutral while having his and his families’ lives threatened are all interwoven in a timeline that covers many of the epidemics that have plagued the world in the last sixty years.
I was especially interested in reading about his time working to protect the public from both HIV/AIDs and Covid, two terrible infectious diseases that affected many friends and made me fearful for family. His writing about his personal life is entertaining and I found the entire book fascinating, even though it is in certain places heavy with the science of statistical trials, microbiology and immunology which I did slightly slide through, but he is a man of science, and I am sure other students of public health, medicine and science will find it more important and enlightening than I did.
This is an autobiography of a truly dedicated, compassionate, and brilliant public servant that is worth reading. Thank you for your service, Dr. Fauci.
ON CALL: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci, M.D. is the autobiography of the most interesting public health doctor/scientist who has served this country for many decades. Stories from his personal life and friendships, his dedication to medicine and public health, and his attempt to remain politically neutral while having his and his families’ lives threatened are all interwoven in a timeline that covers many of the epidemics that have plagued the world in the last sixty years.
I was especially interested in reading about his time working to protect the public from both HIV/AIDs and Covid, two terrible infectious diseases that affected many friends and made me fearful for family. His writing about his personal life is entertaining and I found the entire book fascinating, even though it is in certain places heavy with the science of statistical trials, microbiology and immunology which I did slightly slide through, but he is a man of science, and I am sure other students of public health, medicine and science will find it more important and enlightening than I did.
This is an autobiography of a truly dedicated, compassionate, and brilliant public servant that is worth reading. Thank you for your service, Dr. Fauci.
July 4, 2024
A brilliant and exemplary human being and public servant, a beacon of science and truth, the author does his best at communicating the many facets of his life, especially his accomplishments, in prose akin to a laundry list. So, rating the book rather than the person, I’d give this 1 star, and rating the person rather than the book, I’d give this 5 stars, therefore 3 stars.
The best parts of the book were when he got more personal and the bit at the end when he talked about disinformation.
How people can vilify and threaten such a person is beyond my ability to comprehend. If those people would only try some public service themselves, perhaps they could rejoin the civilized portion of the human race.
The best parts of the book were when he got more personal and the bit at the end when he talked about disinformation.
How people can vilify and threaten such a person is beyond my ability to comprehend. If those people would only try some public service themselves, perhaps they could rejoin the civilized portion of the human race.
August 8, 2024
IN MEMORY OF MY LOVELY WIFE, MELISSA. “ON CALL,” BY ANTHONY FAUCI, M.D.”
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives
valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is
no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive
to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end
the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
President Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man In the Arena.”
We dedicate ourselves to the greater glory of God and to the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures.
Jesuit Mission Statement
On a cold, dreary, winter morning in the town of Independence, Missouri, the headlights of a car pierced the darkness as it passed through the gates of the cemetery. Two gravediggers looked up from the grave they were digging. One of the men stepped out of the hole and stood beside the closed coffin they would eventually lower into the ground after they had finished their job. There were no wreaths, no crosses, no artificial flowers that would have indicated the previous gathering of friends and family to bid the deceased farewell.
A man stepped out of the car while he kept the headlights on and the car running. He walked toward the coffin and stopped as the grave digger standing by the coffin asked, “Mr. President, what are you doing here?”
Former President Harry S. Truman greeted each grave digger with the nod of his head, removed his hat, and looked solemnly down at the coffin and remarked, “I never forget a friend.”
Paraphrased from David McCullough’s brilliant biography, “Truman.”
After spending two years researching cancer, mainly pediatric cancer, reading over twenty books on the subject and two encyclopedic text books on the subject, supporting a brilliant, eight year old child stricken with this terrible disease, talking with doctors and nurses who specialized in pediatric cancer, I came away with an appreciation for the doctors, nurses, and administrators, that to this day leaves me in total awe and wonderment at their support and caring for their young patients and their parents. They represent the very best of humanity.
Joseph Sciuto on researching pediatric cancer for his novel, “Sofia.”
The four examples presented above are a collection of traits and characteristics that, for me, represent the very best in humanity. Dr. Anthony Fauci possesses all of these traits and characteristics, along with his colleagues, and “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” by Dr. Fauci is a fascinating and eye-opening journey that takes the reader through his dealings with 7 presidents, congressional hearings, supporters and adversaries in his fight against AIDS, Ebola, influenza, SARS, and eventually Covid.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Italian/American parents he attended Catholic Grammar Schools, was accepted and attended a highly regarded Jesuits’ High School where he was the star basketball point guard on their high school team but at 5feet, 7inches tall he gave up any fantasy of playing for the NY Knicks. But, it was the teachings of the Jesuits that would have a profound impact on his life and his professional choices, especially their mission statement: We dedicate ourselves to the greater glory of God and to the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures.
After graduating college, he attended medical school, did his internship, and instead of going into private practice and living on Park Avenue he decided he could do the most good for people across the world by going into public service where he would serve as the director of The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022.
Around 1985, the HIV/AIDS virus started to make headlines in the United States. The gay community was quick to take the lead in fighting this deadly virus. Dr. Fauci was quick to understand the danger this virus posed not only for gay men in the United States but for all people around the world, including heterosexual men and women.
Despite being a firm advocate who was desperately trying to get funding to study and find a cure for this mysterious virus, the activists attacked him. And so what did he do? He joined the activists and went to the hospitals throughout the country to see the victims and too many funerals of those who had fallen.
He approached the Reagan administration and asked for help but they brushed him off. They didn’t want to be associated with a “homo,” disease.
Things would quickly change when President George H.W. Bush took office in 1989. He gave Dr Fauci the green light on fighting this deadly disease. So thankful was Dr. Fauci to President Bush that he dedicated an entire chapter to him called: “A President, a Gentleman, and a Friend.”
Dr. Fauci said, “One of his greatest honors was being invited to President George H.W. Bush’s funeral.”
The Clinton administration, especially First Lady Hilary Clinton, continued the effort and funding for the virus, and by the late nineties treatments (drugs) were discovered that if victims of the virus were discovered early and they stayed on the regiment of drugs they could expect to live a relatively normal life.
And then the big game changer came with the inauguration of President George W. Bush. Under his administration, and with a great amount help from Dr. Fauci and his staff, a program and funding to combat the AIDS virus worldwide was put into place. It worked so well that an estimated 20 million men and women on the African continent were saved from this deadly virus, and millions more in Asia and Europe.
President George W. Bush in 2005 awarded Dr. Fauci The National Medal of Science and in 2008 The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
While President Bush tied the Medal of Freedom around the neck of Dr. Fauci he whispered into his ear, “Others might not know what you have done but I do.”
Over the next 16 years progress was continually made against the AIDS epidemic but a vaccine still has not been developed, but now one pill taken daily controls the virus so well that in blood tests performed on people with AIDS it doesn’t show up in 97 percent of all patients.
Dr. Fauci and his staff at The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were also in the forefront in the fight against Ebola, influenza, Scars and, of course, “The Covid Virus.”
Vaccines against Covid had unprecedented success rates ranging from 85% to 95% and were made available in record setting time. The face most associated with this Virus was Dr. Fauci. Sadly, the man who helped save tens of millions of lives was being ridiculed by the president, U.S. Senators, and Governors…people who saved no lives.
But, like George W. Bush said, I know what you have done and now the world knows how indispensable this man and his staff were in the face of Covid 19 and all these other terrible viruses.
IN MEMORY OF MY LOVELY WIFE MELISSA:
On the morning of July 13, 2024, I heard my wife scream, “Joseph I feel like I am going to faint.” Two minutes later my wife literally died in hands. It was a shock that has left me feeling empty and lost.
My wife represented the four attributes I described above. After two terrible accidents at two different Hollywood Studios she remained in the Arena. One lawyer told her he could get her 25 million dollars if she sued. She replied, “And if I did that my staff would be fired, men and women who are taking care of elderly parents. One dad who has a daughter suffering from Pediatric Cancer. Families left with no health insurance.”
She never sued and after two back surgeries and hundreds of shots in hope of alleviating the pain, she continued to suffer for the next 25 years. She never stopped working and continued to work for the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures, and she never forgot a friend.
My lovely wife represented the very best of humanity.
I have been a very fortunate person. I was raised by a great family, I have alway had great friends, and I was married for 34 years to an amazing, loving, caring, and exceptionally intelligent and talented wife. I only wish it had lasted longer, and that I was the first to go.
My wife had told me that she knew I was the “right man,” when I recited from memory the entire poem, “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe.
The last stanza perfectly summarizes my feelings for my Lovely wife:
“For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.”
Love, Joe and Melissa
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives
valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is
no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive
to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end
the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
President Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man In the Arena.”
We dedicate ourselves to the greater glory of God and to the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures.
Jesuit Mission Statement
On a cold, dreary, winter morning in the town of Independence, Missouri, the headlights of a car pierced the darkness as it passed through the gates of the cemetery. Two gravediggers looked up from the grave they were digging. One of the men stepped out of the hole and stood beside the closed coffin they would eventually lower into the ground after they had finished their job. There were no wreaths, no crosses, no artificial flowers that would have indicated the previous gathering of friends and family to bid the deceased farewell.
A man stepped out of the car while he kept the headlights on and the car running. He walked toward the coffin and stopped as the grave digger standing by the coffin asked, “Mr. President, what are you doing here?”
Former President Harry S. Truman greeted each grave digger with the nod of his head, removed his hat, and looked solemnly down at the coffin and remarked, “I never forget a friend.”
Paraphrased from David McCullough’s brilliant biography, “Truman.”
After spending two years researching cancer, mainly pediatric cancer, reading over twenty books on the subject and two encyclopedic text books on the subject, supporting a brilliant, eight year old child stricken with this terrible disease, talking with doctors and nurses who specialized in pediatric cancer, I came away with an appreciation for the doctors, nurses, and administrators, that to this day leaves me in total awe and wonderment at their support and caring for their young patients and their parents. They represent the very best of humanity.
Joseph Sciuto on researching pediatric cancer for his novel, “Sofia.”
The four examples presented above are a collection of traits and characteristics that, for me, represent the very best in humanity. Dr. Anthony Fauci possesses all of these traits and characteristics, along with his colleagues, and “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” by Dr. Fauci is a fascinating and eye-opening journey that takes the reader through his dealings with 7 presidents, congressional hearings, supporters and adversaries in his fight against AIDS, Ebola, influenza, SARS, and eventually Covid.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Italian/American parents he attended Catholic Grammar Schools, was accepted and attended a highly regarded Jesuits’ High School where he was the star basketball point guard on their high school team but at 5feet, 7inches tall he gave up any fantasy of playing for the NY Knicks. But, it was the teachings of the Jesuits that would have a profound impact on his life and his professional choices, especially their mission statement: We dedicate ourselves to the greater glory of God and to the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures.
After graduating college, he attended medical school, did his internship, and instead of going into private practice and living on Park Avenue he decided he could do the most good for people across the world by going into public service where he would serve as the director of The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022.
Around 1985, the HIV/AIDS virus started to make headlines in the United States. The gay community was quick to take the lead in fighting this deadly virus. Dr. Fauci was quick to understand the danger this virus posed not only for gay men in the United States but for all people around the world, including heterosexual men and women.
Despite being a firm advocate who was desperately trying to get funding to study and find a cure for this mysterious virus, the activists attacked him. And so what did he do? He joined the activists and went to the hospitals throughout the country to see the victims and too many funerals of those who had fallen.
He approached the Reagan administration and asked for help but they brushed him off. They didn’t want to be associated with a “homo,” disease.
Things would quickly change when President George H.W. Bush took office in 1989. He gave Dr Fauci the green light on fighting this deadly disease. So thankful was Dr. Fauci to President Bush that he dedicated an entire chapter to him called: “A President, a Gentleman, and a Friend.”
Dr. Fauci said, “One of his greatest honors was being invited to President George H.W. Bush’s funeral.”
The Clinton administration, especially First Lady Hilary Clinton, continued the effort and funding for the virus, and by the late nineties treatments (drugs) were discovered that if victims of the virus were discovered early and they stayed on the regiment of drugs they could expect to live a relatively normal life.
And then the big game changer came with the inauguration of President George W. Bush. Under his administration, and with a great amount help from Dr. Fauci and his staff, a program and funding to combat the AIDS virus worldwide was put into place. It worked so well that an estimated 20 million men and women on the African continent were saved from this deadly virus, and millions more in Asia and Europe.
President George W. Bush in 2005 awarded Dr. Fauci The National Medal of Science and in 2008 The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
While President Bush tied the Medal of Freedom around the neck of Dr. Fauci he whispered into his ear, “Others might not know what you have done but I do.”
Over the next 16 years progress was continually made against the AIDS epidemic but a vaccine still has not been developed, but now one pill taken daily controls the virus so well that in blood tests performed on people with AIDS it doesn’t show up in 97 percent of all patients.
Dr. Fauci and his staff at The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were also in the forefront in the fight against Ebola, influenza, Scars and, of course, “The Covid Virus.”
Vaccines against Covid had unprecedented success rates ranging from 85% to 95% and were made available in record setting time. The face most associated with this Virus was Dr. Fauci. Sadly, the man who helped save tens of millions of lives was being ridiculed by the president, U.S. Senators, and Governors…people who saved no lives.
But, like George W. Bush said, I know what you have done and now the world knows how indispensable this man and his staff were in the face of Covid 19 and all these other terrible viruses.
IN MEMORY OF MY LOVELY WIFE MELISSA:
On the morning of July 13, 2024, I heard my wife scream, “Joseph I feel like I am going to faint.” Two minutes later my wife literally died in hands. It was a shock that has left me feeling empty and lost.
My wife represented the four attributes I described above. After two terrible accidents at two different Hollywood Studios she remained in the Arena. One lawyer told her he could get her 25 million dollars if she sued. She replied, “And if I did that my staff would be fired, men and women who are taking care of elderly parents. One dad who has a daughter suffering from Pediatric Cancer. Families left with no health insurance.”
She never sued and after two back surgeries and hundreds of shots in hope of alleviating the pain, she continued to suffer for the next 25 years. She never stopped working and continued to work for the greater good of all people from all faiths and cultures, and she never forgot a friend.
My lovely wife represented the very best of humanity.
I have been a very fortunate person. I was raised by a great family, I have alway had great friends, and I was married for 34 years to an amazing, loving, caring, and exceptionally intelligent and talented wife. I only wish it had lasted longer, and that I was the first to go.
My wife had told me that she knew I was the “right man,” when I recited from memory the entire poem, “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe.
The last stanza perfectly summarizes my feelings for my Lovely wife:
“For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.”
Love, Joe and Melissa
June 29, 2024
He kept most of us alive
This book was a genuine pleasure to read. The only difficult parts were reliving the terrible ordeal of Covid and a truly stupid president. Even with all of Trump's nonsense, Tony Fauci kept most of us alive.
This book was a genuine pleasure to read. The only difficult parts were reliving the terrible ordeal of Covid and a truly stupid president. Even with all of Trump's nonsense, Tony Fauci kept most of us alive.
November 25, 2024
We may be more aware of him because of the lead role he played during the Covid pandemic. But his career spans so much more than the battle he had to endure through anti-vaxxers and an egotistical President who wouldn’t listen to his sage advice.
This is his story. His career. His life. And, there is so much more to appreciate about what he brought to our country that went unappreciated by the many who did not value or understand the science.
This is the author’s straightforward review of his work and reason for being an epidemiologist, and love of other scientific subjects. It covers his childhood, his medical training, his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and as the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Even if it isn’t a literary masterpiece, and sometimes slogs along, he is still thoughtfully plain-spoken and direct in sharing his remarkable life story. His dedication to medicine and public service is evident. Sometimes at quite the personal cost to him.
As we know, he was the revered and reviled face of the Covid-19 government response. Prior to that, he was mostly identified by his work on HIV/AIDS. Known mostly as a healer and an activist. And, as shared earlier, at great personal cost – the loss of a first marriage, a friend to death from AIDS, PTSD for the author, amongst a few other things. But his contributions are many.
The discussion about Covid-19 takes center-stage throughout the book, and anyone who has been around during that period of time knows how that went. But hearing it from the author’s point of view helps. He has a right to tell it from his side. After all, he was at the center.
He is an optimistic storyteller, in some ways about all he has been through in his life – in all that he has experienced, especially as it relates to scientific breakthroughs. But there is also some truth to his experience that he shares.
“At times, I am deeply disturbed about the state of our society. But it is not so much about the impending public health disaster. It is about the crisis of truth in my country and to some extent throughout the world, which has the potential to make these disasters so much worse. We are living in an era in which information that is patently untrue gets repeated enough times that it becomes part of our everyday dialogue and starts to sound true and in a time in which lies are normalized and people invent their own set of facts. We have seen complete fabrications become some people’s accepted reality.”
Perhaps the state of our country as we walk in to 2025 is exactly why we are where we are now. Because of the misinformation that people chose to believe as fact. How else could some of the voters have put a criminal/con man at the head of our government for the next 4 years?
Fauci in his optimism, felt that our hope “lies in young people” when he also shared…
“What became even more clear to me was something I already knew: that the diversity in our country in its myriad forms – geographic, economic, cultural, racial, ethnic, and political – makes us an attractive and great country.”
The book was published in June, 2024. Before the November 2024 election. So, I don’t know if he knew what the intended outcome was going to be with another term of Trump. It will definitely be a while before we see ourselves as the author had “hoped” for our country. We can still appreciate the wisdom of Fauci's medical experience shared through these pages.
This is his story. His career. His life. And, there is so much more to appreciate about what he brought to our country that went unappreciated by the many who did not value or understand the science.
This is the author’s straightforward review of his work and reason for being an epidemiologist, and love of other scientific subjects. It covers his childhood, his medical training, his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and as the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Even if it isn’t a literary masterpiece, and sometimes slogs along, he is still thoughtfully plain-spoken and direct in sharing his remarkable life story. His dedication to medicine and public service is evident. Sometimes at quite the personal cost to him.
As we know, he was the revered and reviled face of the Covid-19 government response. Prior to that, he was mostly identified by his work on HIV/AIDS. Known mostly as a healer and an activist. And, as shared earlier, at great personal cost – the loss of a first marriage, a friend to death from AIDS, PTSD for the author, amongst a few other things. But his contributions are many.
The discussion about Covid-19 takes center-stage throughout the book, and anyone who has been around during that period of time knows how that went. But hearing it from the author’s point of view helps. He has a right to tell it from his side. After all, he was at the center.
He is an optimistic storyteller, in some ways about all he has been through in his life – in all that he has experienced, especially as it relates to scientific breakthroughs. But there is also some truth to his experience that he shares.
“At times, I am deeply disturbed about the state of our society. But it is not so much about the impending public health disaster. It is about the crisis of truth in my country and to some extent throughout the world, which has the potential to make these disasters so much worse. We are living in an era in which information that is patently untrue gets repeated enough times that it becomes part of our everyday dialogue and starts to sound true and in a time in which lies are normalized and people invent their own set of facts. We have seen complete fabrications become some people’s accepted reality.”
Perhaps the state of our country as we walk in to 2025 is exactly why we are where we are now. Because of the misinformation that people chose to believe as fact. How else could some of the voters have put a criminal/con man at the head of our government for the next 4 years?
Fauci in his optimism, felt that our hope “lies in young people” when he also shared…
“What became even more clear to me was something I already knew: that the diversity in our country in its myriad forms – geographic, economic, cultural, racial, ethnic, and political – makes us an attractive and great country.”
The book was published in June, 2024. Before the November 2024 election. So, I don’t know if he knew what the intended outcome was going to be with another term of Trump. It will definitely be a while before we see ourselves as the author had “hoped” for our country. We can still appreciate the wisdom of Fauci's medical experience shared through these pages.
July 4, 2024
Outstanding. On Call is a memoir by Dr Anthony (Tony) Fauci. An incredible story of a man that has served 60 years in public service and served 8 administrations. To say this man is brilliant is putting it lightly. Many may remember him for his relentless pursuit in a cure for AIDs. While no cure has ever been found, people are living today because of Fauci. During the crisis he spent endless hours with patients, activists, politicians, and communities trying to understand this disease and to develop a vaccine that would bring the suffering of mostly young men to an end. It never happened. Yet through his dedication he was able to develop a drug that would now allow men to go on and live normal lives while HIV became undetectable in their systems. Fauci then went on to handle other global crises and cures such as Ebola, SARS, influenza, and ultimately COVID 19. All of this work, research and endless nights brought him to the White House for every president since Reagan (as a young dr he treat Nixon for pneumonia). With many ups and downs and conflicts with all of these diseases nothing was able to prepare him for his work with the Trump administration. While this book is NOT political at all, it can not help but to become political during this time due to the actions of MAGA and the first time Fauci and his family required a security detail. Without going into all the details it is a stunning read to see how a group of politicians suddenly became smarter in medicine and vaccines than the Director of NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). The director for over 60 years. While Fauci does use numerous medical terms throughout the book, it’s not terribly difficult to understand what he’s speaking about. He uses this to give reference to his work, his research, and what is behind the decisions he makes. The book is easily broken up into 5 parts. His youth and growing up; his AIDS work; working on bioterrorism readiness during Iraq War; SARS, Ebola, and Zia; and Part 5 - Covid. If you read this book for nothing more than his AIDS work and for his work on Covid, you will see what a genuinely compassionate, brilliant man Fauci is. From receiving the country’s highest honour The Presidential Medal of Freedom from GW BUSH, to the total disrespect and lies of an administration that turned medicine into politics (Trump saying to the American people “it’s recommended that masks be worn, but I’m not going to wear one”) This book will give you the true picture of Dr Fauci, in his own words, in words from every president, from medical geniuses around the world, the respect of AIDS activists, and more. A man that dedicated his entire life to medicine because “we have a moral responsibility to not allow people to die because of who they are and where they happen to live”. To those of whom much is given, much is required”.
June 23, 2024
Dr. Fauci is a brilliant, curious, giving, tireless, patient, amazing human being. I am grateful to him for his dedication to research and study and caring for people of all walks of life. I learned so much from this book. I admire his ability to explain how dangerous, incompetent, unhinged, and evil Donald Trump was and is without using any of these adjectives. Thank you for your lifetime of work saving lives.
August 10, 2024
GAIN OF FUNCTION RESEARCH FUNDED BY NIH IN WUHAN LAB - COVID LEAKS FROM NO OTHER THAN WUHAN LAB - DOESNT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE THIS ONE OUT - FOLLOW THE MONEY - IF YOU HELPED CREATE COVID ARE YOU AN EXPERT? FOR SURE. TRUSTED? ONLY BY CHINA - YOUR WORLDVIEW IS ABOUT TO BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
September 4, 2024
I have been a big fan of Dr. Fauci for years, so of course I loved this book. He takes us from the beginning of his career to the first cases of AIDS through Influenza, Ebola, Zika, Covid 19, as well as the development of treatments and sometimes, vaccines for these and other infectious diseases. He has now retired from the NIH, but is still teaching future physicians and policy makers at Georgetown University. An amazing career and an amazing book.
June 23, 2024
I loved listening to Dr. Fauci read his own words describing his amazing career in public service. Our nation definitely benefited from his many decades working at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
June 25, 2024
A career retrospective that was filled with intriguing scientific details and behind-the-scenes stories. I enjoyed the audio version, read by Dr. Fauci in his Brooklyn accent.
September 19, 2024
It is really astounding how people not only still respect Fauci, but lionize him. He flat out lied to Congress about his knowledge of gain of function research in Wuhan, and the US funding of this research. He also routinely violated the rights of Americans by gleefully pushing for imposing restrictions on the public. He is a complete narcissist.
July 18, 2024
In the Last Week Tonight episode on Monkeypox, when John Oliver is discussing how the US had begun stockpiling smallpox vaccines after 9/11 because of fears that the disease could be used as a bioweapon, he runs a news clip from 2002 featuring, as he said: "There he is, Anthony Fauci, the Forrest Gump of catastrophic contagion!"
Honestly, it's a fair assessment!
Dang, Dr Fauci has lived enough life for like 15 people. This was a really enlightening and surprisingly engaging read. I say "surprisingly" simply because you don't imagine a long retrospective of the life of a scientist to be all that page-turn-y, but it really was, unfortunately largely because of all the horrible events he not only lived through but was at the forefront of the fight against. I really liked learning more personal details of his life and background, and what drew him to medicine and science, and also seeing the beginnings of his storied career. I appreciated how forthright he was about not just his successes but also his flaws and foibles, and the honesty with which he approaches his work and the world around it. And it was also painfully intriguing to learn more about some of the epidemics he worked on which I was too young at the time to fully comprehend.
When he gets to the point in the timeline of the first medical journal article regarding an odd occurrence of pneumonia among five gay men, it is difficult not to have your heart in your throat, since as a modern reader looking back, we know what's about to happen. A few months later, he sees another article on the same issue, now impacting 26 gay men in another city, and he mentions getting goose bumps from it. And yeah, same, Fauci! I was so impressed with how he handled HIV and AIDS, and especially how much empathy and understanding he showed to activists who did not exactly hold him in the highest regard. He never took it personally, and he never dismissed them. He brought them into the fold, he listened, he gave them a platform. You can tell that he was fully dedicated to doing whatever he could to fight this disease, at a time when a lot of people, including in the federal government, didn't really give a shit because gay men dying was of no concern to them.
And the same dedication to the public good is on display throughout his career, which makes the disgusting hateful attacks on him and his family from the right-wing all the more atrocious. Fauci shows quite a strong level of self-restraint in how he talks about it, because if it were me, I'd be calling those bottom-feeding morons every name in the book.
I will say that there were a few times where I thought he went a bit too into the weeds of one topic or another, a little more detail and play-by-play than was maybe necessary, and so sometimes it got a bit bogged down. But overall I thought this was a terrific overview of a pretty significant man and life.
Also one of his daughters is named Alison so bonus points, obvs.
Honestly, it's a fair assessment!
Dang, Dr Fauci has lived enough life for like 15 people. This was a really enlightening and surprisingly engaging read. I say "surprisingly" simply because you don't imagine a long retrospective of the life of a scientist to be all that page-turn-y, but it really was, unfortunately largely because of all the horrible events he not only lived through but was at the forefront of the fight against. I really liked learning more personal details of his life and background, and what drew him to medicine and science, and also seeing the beginnings of his storied career. I appreciated how forthright he was about not just his successes but also his flaws and foibles, and the honesty with which he approaches his work and the world around it. And it was also painfully intriguing to learn more about some of the epidemics he worked on which I was too young at the time to fully comprehend.
When he gets to the point in the timeline of the first medical journal article regarding an odd occurrence of pneumonia among five gay men, it is difficult not to have your heart in your throat, since as a modern reader looking back, we know what's about to happen. A few months later, he sees another article on the same issue, now impacting 26 gay men in another city, and he mentions getting goose bumps from it. And yeah, same, Fauci! I was so impressed with how he handled HIV and AIDS, and especially how much empathy and understanding he showed to activists who did not exactly hold him in the highest regard. He never took it personally, and he never dismissed them. He brought them into the fold, he listened, he gave them a platform. You can tell that he was fully dedicated to doing whatever he could to fight this disease, at a time when a lot of people, including in the federal government, didn't really give a shit because gay men dying was of no concern to them.
And the same dedication to the public good is on display throughout his career, which makes the disgusting hateful attacks on him and his family from the right-wing all the more atrocious. Fauci shows quite a strong level of self-restraint in how he talks about it, because if it were me, I'd be calling those bottom-feeding morons every name in the book.
I will say that there were a few times where I thought he went a bit too into the weeds of one topic or another, a little more detail and play-by-play than was maybe necessary, and so sometimes it got a bit bogged down. But overall I thought this was a terrific overview of a pretty significant man and life.
Also one of his daughters is named Alison so bonus points, obvs.
June 25, 2024
I have always been fascinated by epidemiology, and I have found that it is invaluable to hear accounts from many perspectives: first responders, victims, responding organizations, etc. Dr. Fauci’s memoir provides the perspective of the government agency and executive branch response to 54 years of infectious disease crises. He stands as a great example of a leader who can be successful transitioning between presidencies (7) and controlling parties. The enduring friendships Dr. Fauci has cultivated throughout the years with Republicans, Democrats, and political activists is proof that we can work together despite our differences. I am dismayed, however, that our society is such that a respected healthcare professional and his family must be provided with a personal protection detail to insure his safety.
Want to read
June 18, 202406/18/24 Requested from Santa Clara County Library through the Libby App, I am 95th in line.
August 19, 2024
Modest autobiography by one of the outstanding human beings of our time, dedicated to his family, learning, and public service - Inspiring and accessible to everyone, but of particular interest to those entering medicine and scientific research.
June 23, 2024
What a life and legacy from Dr. Fauci
July 10, 2024
What an interesting life this man has lived
August 4, 2024
I wanted to read this book so badly I bought it, instead of waiting for it to get to the library. I got it on Audible in anticipation of some very long plane rides, and definitely got my money’s worth: I could have gone around the world a few times and never run out of Tony’s voice in my ear.
Yes, he’s a bit long winded. He’s also led one of the most interesting lives in the past 50 years, and his firsthand stories of the AIDS epidemic and the activism it gave rise to, and Ebola, and avian flu, and Legionnaire’s disease, and of course Covid, are fascinating. He has an eye for people and an ear for conversation that make him a terrific storyteller. He also comes across as a deeply kind, compassionate human being who was treated very badly by rabid misinformation campaigns that made him the scapegoat - and the face - of the culture wars that erupted around Covid.
When my fantasy dinner party comes along, with six people living or dead at the table with me, Tony will be right next to me.
Yes, he’s a bit long winded. He’s also led one of the most interesting lives in the past 50 years, and his firsthand stories of the AIDS epidemic and the activism it gave rise to, and Ebola, and avian flu, and Legionnaire’s disease, and of course Covid, are fascinating. He has an eye for people and an ear for conversation that make him a terrific storyteller. He also comes across as a deeply kind, compassionate human being who was treated very badly by rabid misinformation campaigns that made him the scapegoat - and the face - of the culture wars that erupted around Covid.
When my fantasy dinner party comes along, with six people living or dead at the table with me, Tony will be right next to me.
July 2, 2024
My first job out of college was for an infectious disease journal, so I’ve been familiar with Fauci for about 20 years. His memoir is filled with all the nerdy tidbits, and he gets into how Covid, despite being a public health issue, became more of a political issue. Parts dragged on at times, but worth the read.
June 23, 2024
This man is a saint. Fauci has been on the front line for every major disease outbreak for the past 50 years. Leading the charge to cure and/or stop, and educate the public on AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Zika, Covid and others. Fascinating learning details of his life and team.
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