“Magnetic Moments” is the inside story of the birth and growth of the medical technology that changed the world of diagnostic imaging, authored by one of the first members of one of the pioneering research teams that brought the technology we know today as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) from pure research into clinical use.

Part autobiography, the book covers the author’s journey from being born in bombed-out Liverpool, England in the aftermath of World War II; how he utilized his curiosity and interest in all things electronic to leave pharmaceutical research and become one of the key contributors to the development and commercialization of MRI, ultimately moving to the United States. Holland charts the fifty-year pathway of development; from the crude experiments on samples a few millimeters in size to the creation of huge high-powered machines that probe the inner workings of the human body, combining technologies and science from diverse branches of physics, chemistry and engineering.

“Magnetic Moments” tells not only the story of its author and his contribution to the development of MRI, but also the intrigue and inside story of the competition, jealousy, and sometimes collaboration between competing research teams in the UK and the US – the academic infighting, the sometimes hilarious misadventures and missteps, the clash of egos. And as the technology emerges from academia into commercial development, Holland provides the reader with a fascinating potpourri of first-hand stories from around the globe of corporate greed, management ineptitude, medical malpractice and ultimately triumph as the modality finally emerges as a powerful clinical tool. And how the Brits lost it all, from being the first to launch MRI to no longer being a significant presence in the diagnostic imaging business. Holland’s stories are a vivid recollection illuminated by over 170 pictures, mostly from his personal archive, many never before published. As an accomplished musician, he intertwines the history of MRI development with music references which astound and delight the reader.

Neil Holland is an experienced published author of over fifty peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, and journal articles. In his first full-length book, his gift for storytelling comes to light. After leaving university research in the early 1980s, he moved to the US shortly after beginning his professional career. Now retired, he lives in Ashland, Oregon where he writes and performs music and spends as much time hiking, running, biking, camping, and kayaking outdoors as he can.