I (RH) first met Bob in September of 2005 when he came to Colorado College to give the Roberts' Memorial Lecture, though, unbeknownst to him, we had been close friends since 1983! That was the year I first acquired New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers, and that was the year I really met Bob Desowitz for the first time. I savored each chapter and was delighted by his sense of humor, envious of his talent for telling a story, and impressed by his ability to arouse my emotions.
A few years later The Malaria Capers appeared (1991), followed by Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria in 1997. The Malaria Capers was of particular interest because I had personal ties with some of the characters, and I had been a graduate student at two of the universities that played at least a minor role in the book. Who Gave...