November 6, 2022
Dear Will,
I write to you as a past author in The Concord Review to voice my support of TCR’s work in sparking a love of history and a reflective spirit. You published my paper on Napoleon Bonaparte that I wrote for world history class in 1997.
When I matriculated at Harvard College I still fondly remember you kindly taking me out to lunch, a freshman finding his way. Since then, my path took me towards science and medicine; I obtained my MD from NYU in 2007 and completed clinical training and specialization into endocrinology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. I was recruited to UC San Diego to build a research program devoted to understanding the genetic basis of diabetes and related disorders and am currently tenured at the school of medicine. In addition to leading a lab composed of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, I see patients with diabetes and teach medical students.
Since that article on Bonaparte published in TCR over two decades ago I have published dozens of peer reviewed scientific articles, editorials, and book chapters. The Bonaparte paper was fundamental to what success I’ve had in scientific writing, by teaching me that there is an audience for works of love and depth and passion. I remember that feeling of total immersion and absorption in researching the paper, reading original French sources, getting help from my French teacher to understand certain passages.
In today’s cultural climate, where it is acceptable to respond with “TLDR” (too long didn’t read) and reading material is selected primarily based on its brevity, I think the TCR is even more crucial by appreciating and inspiring appreciation for long form depth.
Thank you for what you did for me and best wishes,
Sincerely,
Amit R. Majithia, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
School of Medicine, University of California San Diego
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