Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
Book Review: Tracy Kidder does it again
Summary: 4 Stars
Tracy Kidder writes with real understanding of his subjects. From "Soul of the New Machine" to "Old Friends", his ability to understand his subjects at a very deep level comes through. Mounts Beyond Mountains is Tracy's best yet. I'd never heard of Paul Farmer when I started this book. Now I feel like I know and really understand him.Book Review: Powerful
Summary: 4 Stars
Kidder makes us aware of Farmer's meaningful work with his clear prose. As such the book is inspirational. He is a bit absorbed in the magnetism and energy of Dr. Farmer and seems to lack objectivity at times, but I can overlook that because, like Farmer, he's a "doer". He invested years in writing this book and his contribution (sharing the story) is as important as what Farmer himself has done. Book Review: What an eye opening book.
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are looking to be challenged and inspired then this is the book for you. We seem to think one man is not capable of making a significant impact on the world, but this book proves otherwise. Whether you are a doctor, desiring to be a doctor, or simply have an interest in human rights and what we can do to promote social justice in the world, then I would recommend reading this inspiring book.Book Review: The Howard Roark of medicine
Summary: 5 Stars
Paul Farmer really seems to me to be the embodiment of what Howard Roark would be if he was a medical doctor. Judging by Kidder's description, Farmer is an infuriating, frustrating, and incredibly stubborn man, but far more often than not he's right.
Kidder describes two schools of thought when it comes to the medical community's ideas on treating infectious disease. One school says that we must be practical and use our limited resources where they're most immediately effective. While this methodology is attractive to a pragmatist, one must realizes the consequences; people of impoverished and corrupt nations are deprived the care they are in dire need of.
The other school of thought says that the patient in front of you is most important. While you're with that patient, it is your responsibility to do everything you can to help them medically. Paul Farmer takes this a step further, and spends his time treating patients in the most deprived parts of the world.
As best I can tell (I'm not in the medical community), before Paul Farmer and Partners in Health, the first school of thought was overwhelmingly predominant. The WHO has proven itself to be a typical controversy-averse bureaucratic organization that has betrayed the trust of so many desperate nations. Paul Farmer and Jim Kim have been instrumental in swaying the opinions of the medical community, although it clearly wasn't without incredible struggle against the status quo.
One unexpected tidbit from this book is the rather positive portrayal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In my lifetime, Aristide has been consistently demonized in the mainstream media, and I quite subconsciously believed the media slant to be true. I was quite surprised when, upon reading this book, I learned that Aristide is wildly supported among the Haitian peasants and deeply admired by Paul Farmer.
Even now, when I try to read about Aristide on the internet, the stories are incredibly bimodal. Some people say he's a mass murderer responsible for a significant percentage of the cocaine trafficking in the United States. Others say that he's a friend of the poor and a true Haitian hero. However, my personal "sniff test" is that if Aristide so revered by Paul Farmer, then there's good reason for me to believe the positive stories of him.
I applaud Tracy Kidder for his intimate and unbiased portrayal of Paul Farmer. I sincerely hope that books like this will help humanize the American value system towards care for the poor.
P.S. Yes, I know Ayn Rand is completely insane and the extreme polar opposite of Paul Farmer, but in this case I think there is a very distinct similarity between Roark and Farmer.
Book Review: Excellent Reading
Summary: 5 Stars
As a public health educator, I found this book to be quite engaging. I worked in the HIV/AIDS field for several years and continue to serve in a volunatary capacity. Farmer shows what medicine should be about: taking care of people as individuals, not as a collection of symptoms. Wouldn't it be exciting if there were more like Dr. Farmer even here in the United States where out public health system is poorly lacking for those who need it the most.