Book excerpt: This sweeping narrative history, drawn from archival resources and over 100 personal interviews, traces the development of Massachusetts General Hospital from a hospital with only two doctors and a handful of patients to its present position as the largest civilian employer in Boston, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world, and the largest hospital-based biomedical research institution in the United States. Today, Mass General is not merely a quaternary care mecca, for the treatment of patients with the rarest conditions; it is also a research powerhouse, where physician scientists search for everything from a cure for AIDS to the origins of life in the universe. In addition, it is one of the most sought-after places of training for young doctors, attracting some of the brightest men and women from all over the globe.