What does an academic physician do when he retires: gardening, travel and tennis are surely not enough. I had written during all of my professional life - but scientifically and with a view to educating students and the general public. Always fascinated by the evolution of medicine and its human background, I decided to probe the life of Claude Bernard. He was my inspiration as a medical student, and I had passed on my enthusiasm in my teaching of my students during four decades in Australia and the UK.