Using a specific case history, the speaker discusses male mid-life suicides & his concept of “suicidal careers”. That suicidal decisions develop over time against a genetic, social & psychological backdrop & that systematic self-destruction can become a “career”. For middle aged, white, American males, suicide is the 5th leading cause of death. To understand these suicides, we need sophisticated multifactorial models, as well as, adequate samples & controls. (GW)