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Mountains beyond Mountains

by Tracy Kidder

Mountains beyond Mountains Cover

 

Staff Pick

Beautifully told, and entirely inspiring, Mountains Beyond Mountains is an exceptional look at the heroic life of Dr. Paul Farmer. Providing health care for hundreds of thousands in a remote, impoverished region of Haiti, Farmer's incomparable dedication brings change not only to the lives he touches directly, but to the efficacy of health care around the globe. Tracy Kidder compellingly proves that one person can make a difference, in this case in Herculean ways. Why read about a pioneering doctor out to change the world? It will change your outlook on humanity and move you to evaluate your place within it.
Recommended by Michal D., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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 lifes 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 Farmerbrilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haitiblasts 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.”

Review:

"In this excellent work, Pulitzer Prize-winner Kidder immerses himself in and beautifully explores the rich drama that exists in the life of Dr. Paul Farmer....Throughout, Kidder captures the almost saintly effect Farmer has on those whom he treats." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Review:

"[A] skilled and graceful exploration of the soul of an astonishing human being." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Review:

"A fine writer and his extraordinary subject: Tracy Kidder, in giving us Paul Farmer, lifts up an image of hope — and challenge — that the world urgently needs. Simply put, this is an important book." James Carroll, author of Constantine's Sword

Review:

"A profoundly inspiring and important book about one of the truly great men of our time." Ethan Canin, author of Carry Me Across the Water

Review:

"Saints are notoriously difficult people, but who knew one could be so funny, so utterly charming, and finally so deft in accomplishing that most impossible of all job descriptions — changing the world? Tracy Kidder's spellbinding story presents us with an unlikely saint and finally, with inspiration so compelling it makes the usual cynicism about global change seem indulgent foolishness." Patricia Hampl, author of A Romantic Education

Synopsis:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [305]-317).

About the Author

Tracy Kidder has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award, among other literary prizes. The author of The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, and Home Town, Kidder lives in Massachusetts and Maine.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 6 comments:

writermala, January 19, 2011 (view all comments by writermala)
Reading it as I did in the backdrop of Baby Doc's return to Haiti it was so moving. Paul Farmer is certainly the epitome of what a Doctor promises to do when he takes the Hippocratic Oath. What he does is so far beyond the call of duty that no human being can aspire to emulate him.

Tracy Kidder has done a wonderful job of describing Farmer's single-handed battle in Haiti .
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KarenFG, January 3, 2011 (view all comments by KarenFG)
A moving, inspiring and beautifully written story about Dr. Paul Farmer
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sikoya, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by sikoya)
This book tells the story about an amazing person: Paul Farmer. It will open your eyes onto the world of poverty and disease, and how they are inextricably linked. Tracy Kidder is an excellent writer who keeps you engaged from cover to cover. It is full of hope and passion, and may inspire you to do good in the world.
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(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780375506161
Author:
Kidder, Tracy
Publisher:
Random House
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
Health Care Delivery
Subject:
Human Rights
Subject:
Medical - Physicians
Subject:
Physicians
Subject:
Poor
Subject:
Right to health care
Subject:
Humanitarians
Subject:
Missionaries, Medical
Subject:
General Biography
Subject:
Biography/Medical
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Series Volume:
4425-4426
Publication Date:
20030931
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
9.57x6.46x1.20 in. 1.30 lbs.

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Mountains beyond Mountains New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$27.95 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Random House - English 9780375506161 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

Beautifully told, and entirely inspiring, Mountains Beyond Mountains is an exceptional look at the heroic life of Dr. Paul Farmer. Providing health care for hundreds of thousands in a remote, impoverished region of Haiti, Farmer's incomparable dedication brings change not only to the lives he touches directly, but to the efficacy of health care around the globe. Tracy Kidder compellingly proves that one person can make a difference, in this case in Herculean ways. Why read about a pioneering doctor out to change the world? It will change your outlook on humanity and move you to evaluate your place within it.

"Review" by , "In this excellent work, Pulitzer Prize-winner Kidder immerses himself in and beautifully explores the rich drama that exists in the life of Dr. Paul Farmer....Throughout, Kidder captures the almost saintly effect Farmer has on those whom he treats."
"Review" by , "[A] skilled and graceful exploration of the soul of an astonishing human being."
"Review" by , "A fine writer and his extraordinary subject: Tracy Kidder, in giving us Paul Farmer, lifts up an image of hope — and challenge — that the world urgently needs. Simply put, this is an important book."
"Review" by , "A profoundly inspiring and important book about one of the truly great men of our time."
"Review" by , "Saints are notoriously difficult people, but who knew one could be so funny, so utterly charming, and finally so deft in accomplishing that most impossible of all job descriptions — changing the world? Tracy Kidder's spellbinding story presents us with an unlikely saint and finally, with inspiration so compelling it makes the usual cynicism about global change seem indulgent foolishness."
"Synopsis" by , Includes bibliographical references (p. [305]-317).
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