Aaron Lazare, the author of *On Apology*, discusses his exploration and analysis of the power of apology, not just for individuals but also for groups and nations. For example, Abraham Lincoln's apology for slavery and the US government's apology to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II. In its review, *Publishers Weekly* wrote, "Lazare succeeds in showing that a true apology is among the most graceful and profound of all human exchanges. When it is sincere, it is not an end but a new beginning." **Aaron Lazare** is Chancellor and Dean, and professor of psychiatry, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Aaron Lazare, MD, is the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor in Medical Education and professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Lazare served as dean of the Medical School from 1990-2007 and chancellor of the campus, which includes the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (opened in 1979) and the Graduate School of Nursing (opened in 1986), from 1991-2007. Lazare received his AB in 1957 from Oberlin College and his MD in 1961 from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He spent one year at Yale University Medical School before beginning 14 years of service at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), rising to the rank of professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. During his time at MGH, he built the outpatient psychiatry department into the largest and most diverse in New England, and provided leadership for founding and developing what many believe has been the most successful continuing education course in psychiatry in the U.S. He conducted pioneering research on the importance of understanding the patient's perspective on clinical outcome and applying a negotiating paradigm to the doctor-patient relationship. He is the author of the first textbook on outpatient psychiatry, *Outpatient Psychiatry: Diagnosis and Treatment*, now in its second printing. The textbook was selected in January 1990 by the *American Journal of Nursing *as book of the year, and in 1984 Lazare was named by *Boston Magazine *as one of Boston's leading therapists.