Neurosurgeon Nicholas Theodore opens the episode by taking us through the decision calculus of spinal cord decompression surgery. We then inaugurate our Life Medical Book Club with two distinguished physician authors. The first is Malcolm Ogborn, whose book Sudden Leadership is subtitled A Survival Guide for Physicians. Then Michael Zema, the author of Modern Healthcare Delivery - Deliverance or Debacle, gives us a a view from the inside out of the history of the modern medical system in the United States.