Cardiologist Jonathan D. Reich ’85 Has a Passion for History

Dr. Jonathan D. Reich ’85, SEAS’86 is a cardiologist on faculty at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the author of a new history book, A Convenient Villain, about Charles Lindbergh’s legacy in the WWII era.

Before joining Johns Hopkins in 2015, Reich was in private practice in Florida. He also performed research; Reich wrote one of the most important papers in emergency medicine in 2004. Another journal article was instrumental in the effort to develop a screening test for congenital heart disease; the test was later adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The American Academy of Pediatrics credits it with saving the lives of roughly 12 babies a year.

Reich wrote A Convenient Villain in his spare time, done from a passion for history (and because his wife insisted he needed a hobby).

What were you like when you arrived at Columbia?

Unprepared. I was 17, and the public high school I had attended in South Florida did not prepare me for Columbia. It took me a while to learn both the academic and social skills I would need to apply to medical school. But it all worked out, and I loved my time at the College.

What do you remember about your first-year living situation?

Columbia was still all male when I started. Carman Hall was a cinder block testosterone-fueled zoo. The young men on the fourth floor with me were like characters from a situation comedy; each was bizarre and unique — but with one quality in common. Every one of them was more intellectually intriguing than anyone I had met. I still have a friend from that floor. He reviewed chapters for my book.

What Core class or experience do you most remember, and why?

I did the five-year College-Engineering program and applied to medical school; but, as it turned out, the most influential course I took was the one on WWII history taught by Mark Carnes GSAS’82. Professor Carnes wrote me a letter of recommendation for medical school that stated that if he forgot a fact or date, he would look out into the auditorium, find me and I would tell him the information.

During my medical school interviews, some of the faculty interviewing me commented on this unusual recommendation letter. I don’t know what happened to Professor Carnes, but if he reads this, I’d love to send him a copy of my book.

Did you have a favorite spot on campus, and what did you like about it?

There were a few. I loved hanging out on the Steps with my friends when the weather was warm. One of them was the great-grandson of Nicholas Murray Butler [CC 1882], who had been president of Columbia, won a Nobel Prize and was the Republican candidate for Vice President in the 1912 election. I loved playing catch in front of Butler Library, where Lou Gehrig [CC 1923] had once played baseball. I loved that my freshman dorm room, as far as we could figure out, had also been Art Garfunkel ’65’s room. The unique history of Columbia enthralled me then and might have led me to my pursuit of writing about history now.

What, if anything, about your College experience would you do over?

When my friends asked me what I thought about their kids applying to Columbia, I told them no university is perfect. And although I knew neither, I went to the College with Barack Obama ’83 and Neil Gorsuch ’89. Very few schools provide opportunities to have classmates like these men and the thousands of my fellow alumni who went on to change the world.

When you’re trying to get into medical school, you really must take the time and expend the effort to take advantage of non-medical opportunities. The most efficient and effective path would have meant I would have had the same academic experience as thousands of other pre-meds at other universities.

If I could do it again, I would have taken a class in the School of International and Public Affairs solely because it interested me. I would have taken classes taught by famous faculty, even if it delayed my graduation. I would have taken these classes specifically because they had nothing to do with my projected career path. My life has taught me that you make your own path.