LAUGH AT and learn from engaging anecdotes as a boy from small-town America is inspired by nature, finds ways to do well in college, takes baby-steps in scientific research, and applies to medical school.
* Hear tips about how to read broadly, pursue interests, and do well in school. Learn how to get a "running start" in college, and how to get As and Bs in required foreign language courses even if you are terrible at languages!
* Avoid critical errors: Learn how to consider what career is right for you, and how best to order medical school rotations in view of your long-term goals.
* Laugh and cry as you survive medical internship and residency training, enter the world of endocrinology research, struggle for grants, and make discoveries.
* Learn when it may be time to leave academics and pursue science in other venues.
* Understand what advantages and disadvantages a physician-scientist faces in the pharmaceutical industry.
* Gain confidence in using your heart as well as your brain. See how even a nerdy bookworm who has been on few dates can fall in love with an intelligent, kind, beautiful woman he meets in a laundromat. Build a strong marriage. Be able to face difficult personal challenges. Raise daughters.
* VERY IMPORTANTLY, do not be weighed down by the depressing trends in modern science claiming that life has no ultimate meaning and that humans probably lack free will. Understand what rational arguments strongly support the existence of free will and allow for ultimate meaning -- thus, the title of this book, Free To Decide.
Many scientists prepare a compilation of their key scientific publications, but this book is unique because the full-length papers (each accompanied by text explaining why the experiments were done as well as the context of the work) are placed in a large appendix at the end. The publications thereby are set in perspective by the often humorous and heartwarming autobiographical narrative that precedes that appendix. The reader can also experience the pleasure of a life-long pursuit of broad interests, such as astronomy, geology and reflections on human evolution. Learn vital tactical and strategic tips to improve your skill at the now popular pastime, No-limit Texas Hold'em Poker (the author has won substantial prizes). Update: Dr. Magner's poker chapter in this book has special relevance in view of his impressive 27th place finish at the World Series of Poker (Main Event) in July, 2015 (winning $262,574!!).
Independent Book Review by Kirkus Reviews:
"...This remembrance is brimming with charming anecdotes, some of them joyful and others candidly sad... The author liberally and prudently dispenses advice on a wide range of subjects as well, including finding a career and managing one's finances... Magner lived a very full life with no shortage of either triumph or trauma, and the wisdom that resulted is a pleasure to read. Especially those with an inclination for science can benefit from his meditations on a life properly devoted to both reason and what lies beyond its reach..." -- Kirkus Reviews
James Magner, M.D. is a clinician-scientist with a special interest in endocrinology and thyroid disease including thyroid cancer. He did basic science work on thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), had a long academic career, and then a career in the pharmaceutical industry. He is married and lives in Woodbridge, CT.
