This publication is a personal account of experiences in the world of science, medicine, public health, drug development, and international health care, obtained from many different areas of the world during the rewarding and diverse fifty-year career of Thomas Jones, MD. That career has included major activities in the United States, Switzerland, the Philippines, Thailand, and Brazil, as well as smaller experiences in virtually every corner of the globe. It has included work in universities, the corporate world of drug research, and work with government organizations. There have been misdirections in health care that have been partially overlooked, perhaps because of attention given to the numerous--primarily technical--advances that have been made. The essays, in spite of their rather negative message, are intended to be a pleasure to read--coherent, logical, tasteful, and accurate, with humor where appropriate but severity where needed. The essays have been divided into three types: first, those that are relevant to social, governmental, and drug policy issues in our society; second, those relevant to special approaches to health care from the viewpoint of a specialist in infectious diseases; and third, those regarding specific infectious diseases. These three areas overlap at numerous points, but they allow the reader to direct his or her attention to policy issues, health care approaches, or the specific disease.