Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World |
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| Title: | Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World |
| Author: | Tracy Kidder |
| Publisher: | Random House Trade Paperbacks |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 31 August, 2004 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0812973011 / 9780812973013 |
| List Price: | $16.00 |
| You Save: | $5.12 |
| Amazon Price: | $10.88 |
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, and Home Town. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the “master of the non-fiction narrative.” This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results.
Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity" - a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners In Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.’s World Health Organization, and others in his quest to cure the world. At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope, and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”: as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.
“Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation,” says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr says, “[Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews:
• Farmer's Journey Helps Us Reflect On Our Own
12 March, 2010
"It is so easy, at least for me, to mistake a person's material resources for his interior ones." ~ Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains
Today I finished Tracy Kidder's excellent book about Paul Farmer and his nonprofit, Partners in Health, a global nonprofit organization, started in Haiti, that has changed the perception of basic health care from a privilege to a social justice. Being able to have the tools to heal is a birth right, not something reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Paul Farmer has given his life for this simply articulated belief: every life matters equally.
Biography and autobiography is a fascinating thing. While we hear about someone else's journey, we cannot help but examine our own. By viewing someone else's place in the world, their contributions to humanity, we begin to consider and re-consider our place, our contribution.
As I left yoga class today, my head was swimming. I've got too much information coming at me a million miles an hour: at work, in yoga class, in my volunteer hours, from my friends and family. I'm trying to date as much as I can, and then also leave some time each day for myself. For my own thoughts and reflections. My life is bursting with, well, life.
And then I finished Mountains Beyond Mountains, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. I'm trying to just manage my own little corner of the world. Paul Farmer is out there actually saving many corners of the Earth - the most desperate, the poorest, the ones that need immediate attention before they decay entirely beyond any recognition. He is Atlas, and he will not shrug.
So give me yoga asanas, Sanskrit, sacred hindu texts, new technology, org chart after org chart, change and then more change, and any and every trouble and triumph of my many beautiful friends and family members. I can take it all in, and still feel whole and complete, still take care of my own heart and body and soul. I've got this.
If Paul Farmer can wrap his mind around treating TB, HIV / AIDS, and everything that comes along with that, in Haiti, Peru, Russia, Guatemala, Roxbury, and Lesotho to name just a few of the regions of the world his worked has touched, then surely I can do my fair share. After all, we are all just people, fallible, imperfect, stunning examples of grace. There is always more to do, always. And that is a beautiful realization. The Haitians say it best, "There are always mountains beyond mountains." Let us hope that our work is never really done, and let's celebrate that.
- Amazon Customer Review
• One Man Makes A Difference
06 March, 2010
Here is a hero of the first water. He uses all his advantages of race and education to make a difference in the lives of the poor in Haiti, Chili, and Russia. This book paints pictures of the plights of victims of poverty and illnesses such as tuberculosis,and aids, and of the methods Dr. Farmer uses to bring about change. It is inspirational.
- Amazon Customer Review
• We Should All Be Partners In Health
13 March, 2010
Wow, this one blew me totally away. I have never written a review before but I feel compelled to in this instance. Tracy Kidder has long been one of my favorite authors. His book, Among Schoolchildren is one of my favorite books. I was prepared to like this book. What I was not prepared for was the impact it would make on me. This truly is a story that reinforced for me my belief in "the power of one". Paul Farmer is a name that should be on everyone's lips. His commitment to providing healthcare to the world's most impoverished people is a testament to what can be done through dedication and hard work. This book was an eye opener for me and a call to action. I am going to recommend this book to everyone I know. I am also advocating for PIH and their mission in Haiti as loudly as I can. Personally I am committing myself to find a genuine was to make a difference. Everyone should read this book!
- Amazon Customer Review
• Why Humanity Is Ok After All
06 March, 2010
One should not pick up Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains unless one is ready to question one's moral worldview and value system. One shouldn't start reading this book unless one is comfortable admitting to not doing enough to make the world a better place for others. And one especially should not digest this work unless one is prepared to feel inadequate and inspired at the same time.
Kidder introduces us to the book's protagonist, Paul Farmer, and takes us through Farmer's remarkable life, from his childhood living in a bus to his ascension to the very peak of academia and health care. In chronicling Farmer's path from childhood through high school, college, Haiti, and other countries, Kidder provides a deep and at times disturbing state of man.
Many have heard Farmer's story. He grew up in a low-income household, but through a love of learning and his inherent brilliance got into Duke University, where he thrived academically, if not socially. Inspired by a number of factors, Farmer began working in health facilities in Haiti. He gained entrance into Harvard Medical School after having established himself working in Haiti. Soon, his organization, Partners in Health, was training dozens of health care personnel in Haiti and around the world and providing much-needed healthcare to those who needed it most but could afford it least.
Farmer's accomplishments are shockingly moving. What may be more interesting to the reader who seeks a little bit of Farmer's magic potion is just how all of this happened. Kidder spends enough time with Farmer over the years that he becomes to truly know Farmer the doctor, Farmer the motivator, Farmer the leader, Farmer the firebrand, and Farmer the man. Not surprisingly, Kidder grows increasingly affectionate towards Farmer. There are points in the book where Kidder seems to have finally found a kink in Farmer's armor. One such situation involved Farmer's decision to fly a sick child to Boston for treatment. It turned out that the great expense did not save the child, who appeared to have had little chance to begin with.
But as always, Farmer has an answer to Kidder's challenges. Everyone, regardless of birth, deserves to be cared for. Each of us make decisions daily in which we justify why we don't spend our lives helping others, our money building that which is broken. What makes Farmer's idealism and optimism believable, against all odds, is complicated. Farmer was gifted with an intellect that knows few peers. He attended universities that have provided him with the requisite connections and resources to turn his ideas into hospitals. He was very fortunate to have a funder, Tom White, who opened his checkbook to bail Farmer out whenever necessary.
Regardless of the perfect circumstances, it took one man to make it all happen. For those who say it's impossible to lead a meaningful, full life doing something you love, while also accumulating immense global power and stature, may I recommend this book. Just don't say I didn't warn you. It may just make you want to quit your job and instead use your skills for the betterment of mankind.
- Amazon Customer Review
• A Man Triumphant, A Reader Left Feeling Inept
17 March, 2010
I loved this book. The writing was engaging, and the protagonist inspiring. As a biography, I thought it was exceptionally well done and presented the colossal humanity of this individual as well as his breadth of understanding of public health - the real side of public health, which is the individuals who make up the "public". I am left feeling inept and useless, but inspired. Thank you for a wonderful read.
- Amazon Customer Review
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