The origin of Modern Epidemiology, the book

Excerpt

I am sitting at my desk looking at a print copy of the fourth edition of Modern Epidemiology (1), wondering how to respond to the kind invitation from Albert Hofman. He asked me to describe for the EJE how I came to write the first edition, and how the book evolved from there. To me the origin was mundane. In 1981, I was teaching an intermediate methods course at Harvard, and a similar course for the New England Epidemiology Institute, a summer program for epidemiologists. Teaching those courses was an opportunity for me, as any teacher can attest that teaching is a powerful stimulus for learning. I wrote detailed notes for a course handout, and as I wrote I found that there was much I needed to learn. I set for myself the task of describing a concise set of concepts to unite the methods, in plain language that was clear to readers. …