Dr. Gerald A. Isenberg, 52, Penn Valley
Surgeon, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital;
president, Association of Program Directors for Colon
and Rectal Surgery
» Books on his night stand: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I like Team of Rivals because it’s about Abraham Lincoln, whom I’ve always loved. It shows how he was able to get along with people he may not have completely agreed with.
» iPod artist on repeat: Acoustic Alchemy, a New Age group. They have great jazz guitar pieces.
» Restaurant of the hour: Fuji Mountain in Bryn Mawr—great, fresh Japanese food.
» Personal hero: My father. He was a Renaissance man—the brightest man I ever knew, extremely well read, and had a very clear-thinking mind.
» One thing he knows for sure: I’ll always love my wife.
» Very own vici: I’ve been married for almost 30 years, and I’ve been able to establish a loving, caring family.
» Zen destination: Ponza, a small island in Italy, near Capri—paradise!
» How he relaxes: I’ve practiced yoga for about 15 years now.
» If he had an extra hour each day, he would: Spend it with my new granddaughter, or play with my Portuguese water dogs.
» Pet peeve: People who don’t signal when they’re making a turn.
» Life view: chance or fate? Fate. I think there’s a greater force out there that has predetermined a lot of what happens to us.
» Most marked characteristic: I’m very serious—too serious—and honest.
» Mantra: “Truth unto its innermost parts.” (The motto of his college, Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.)
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