One Man, One Medicine, One Health

Book excerpt: The biography begins with Jim's birth and scrappy childhood in Chicago and takes the reader through his formal education to become a veterinarian at the Michigan State College and then earning a Master's in Public Health from Harvard. The reader is then taken through early work experiences, adventures in many countries engaging in and winning battles against deadly animal and human diseases, on through to his retirement from CDC in 1971 as the first U.S. Assistant Surgeon General for Veterinary Affairs. Family and personal experiences are weaved into the story to include real-life adventure, success, tragedy and humor. After leaving CDC, Dr. Steele began a prominent second career as a Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Texas, School of Public Health. There he compiled and edited the world's first comprehensive series of books on diseases shared by animals and man, the CRC Handbook Series on Zoonoses. At the ripe young age of 96, he continues to lecture, consult, mentor, advise, write, and inspire. The story of Jim Steele's life is stirring to us all, in and outside the allied health professions. He is a true pioneer in the evolving philosophy of One Medicine, One Health, One World. He has been called by many of his colleagues, The Father of Veterinary Public Health.