I first heard the surname Dubowitz and its timeless association with paediatric muscle disease while a preclinical medical student. He was and remains a colossus of his age, and his legacy will be further enhanced by this wonderful book.

Described on the dustjacket as “as unconventional a presentation of memoirs as one will encounter”, I was reassured by the author’s preface that it “was not an autobiography, rather a journey into a career in paediatrics”.

I read this book with great relish.

It resembled a medical Herodotus Histories with its underlying theme of the rise of neuropaediatrics and especially the advent and recognition of paediatric neuromuscular disease. However, it is written with a candour, especially regarding medical and academic politics, I last encountered in Golda Meyer’s My Life.

There are many touching reminiscences that strike different chords. Examples include …