Book excerpt: his is a collection of essays which recount some of the highlights of the author's thirty-odd years as an educator in a medical school. The essays are personal, yet provide an informed, insightful and incisive critique of medical education through eyewitness accounts of events in academic settings. The essays range over personal experiences in the medical school's political arena, grantsmanship exercises and commentary on the application of educational principles in the settings of medical education. The author writes from the vantage point of being one of the first educational consultants to medical schools. His views on medical education have been offered through journal articles, book chapters, and lectures, always with good humor and a message.