In these profiles of some of America’s most notable, influential, and fascinating MDs, Peter Wortsman merges social history, theory of the professions, and an intimate local cultural anthropology of Columbia University’s medical center. Our Columbian history provides a microcosm of the history of medicine writ large, showing the obligatory interweaving of clinical practice and basic science breakthroughs. The Caring Heirs of Doctor Samuel Bard will be an inestimable resource for all interested in medicine and its interface with society, as well as a source of inspiration to medical students and applicants to medical school.