Mountains Beyond Mountains

I never knew that a guy like Dr. Paul Farmer existed. I would recommend everyone to read the book.

Always wanted to read this book (Paperback) - even though I already had the Kindle version!

Nice book but a bit too lengthy.. I bought it for my ops book review assignment.. had to really struggle to finish it.. the real content starts in the ending chapters.

Inspirational

Well written in the personal level yet covering very practical, descriptive world issues. The book made me grieve yet comforted by knowing that there is endeavour to solve the world desperate problems among the destitute. And it tells me that humanity and love is the only answer to the hope in it. Remembering late Dr. Farmer, I will like my children to read this book and ponder upon when they become teens.

The book narrates a story of dedicated doctor to make difference in worst possible circumstances and restores faith in ability of human beings to take up challenge of universal health with universal standards, and to achieve it in reasonable timeframe with strong socio political commitment.

The book is a great read but the book condition seems pathetic. The book has dirt marks on the front and back cover. The pages are not cut properly and many pages are extending out of the book. Terrible book condition. Seems used or pirated book. Zero stars for the seller

Absolut inspirierend, herausfordernd und motivierend zugleich. Eine wirkliche Kaufempfehlung, kann man mehr als einmal lesen. Die Wortwahl im Englischen ist auch sehr schön und vor allem breit gefächert, man kann also gleichzeitig viele neue Vokabeln lernen. Aber keine Angst, auch ohne jedes einzelne Wort zu übersetzen kann man das Buch verstehen ;-). Unglaublich, was ein einzelner Mensch so alles leisten kann. Auf Amazon.com findet ihr noch viele weitere Bewertungen zu diesem Buch, die man sich vielleicht mal durchlesen könnte, wenn es einen noch nicht überzeugt hier auf der deutschen Seite.

This is an excellent boiography of Dr Paul Farmer, an Infectious Disease physician who had a major impact on Public Health, notably in Haiti. He was involved in the world-wide fight against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Well worth a read.

Amazing book-difficult to believe there are people who are so committed and driven to do good for the people-wherever they are. It shows to see people as human not based on colours. Instead of calculating everything as cost vs benefits, we should meet the requirements of every individual. Paul Farmer demonstrate that few committed individuals with high ideals can change the world. He also demonstrates the importance of working with people accepting their cultural beliefs. Tracy kidder- this is the first book I read from him. I never felt there is any need to take a break! I am planning to read more of his books.

Filled with empathy & gratitude

Tracy Kidder is the master journalist, like a clear window on the world. Long ago I read The Soul of a New Machine and liked it, but didn't think too much about it. The brilliance of Kidder's style is so make you feel like you are there, really feel what the subject is about, without any distortion positive or negative. What an amazing subject for this work: Dr. Paul Farmer. This guy is just amazing! As a college student, he travels to Haiti to dedicate himself to the poor. He attends Harvard while spending 8 months a year in Haiti building his own hospital there. He gets a PhD in Anthropology at the same time he gets his MD, the latter not surprising given that he already has 6 years of intense clinical experience dealing directly with life and death situations. You would expect such a person to take on airs, maybe be a big proud of himself, maybe even be motivated by the 'big bucks' so clearly available in a rich city. Dr. Farmer appears to be vying for a "saint" award. Kidder makes you feel like you are there sitting in the same room, and it is no big deal. To say this book is inspiring is badly understating it. Look at what you can do if you hold true to your ideals! It is humbling as well. Dr. Farmer is my age, and I can't help drawing parallels with my own life, and there is no way I could do a fraction of what he is done. Yet I don't need to: it is satisfying to know that there are people like him in the world. There is so much to learn from the book. Never give in, and never give up! His daily accomplishments are so small, and yet at the same time so profound and consistent. It is all about "caring". If you care about your friends, your neighbors, your family, and - yes - the rest of the world, how can you not love a person who literally saves people on a daily basis? Are we seeing a saint walking among us? One has to wonder. This is a story that needs to be told. It reminds me a lot of Three Cups of Tea. If only we could motivate others to do the same -- if only we could motivate ourselves to do the same -- the world could be a better place. How refreshing to read about a real superhero. While continuing to work in Haiti, he started to investigate Lima Peru, where there was a disturbing trend: people with Tuberculosis that was resistant to 4, maybe even 5 of the top antibiotics. He goes there and finds that in general Peru is competently following a program in strict accordance to WHO standards. The problem was the WHO guidelines! How to raise this issue without alienating the world's most important health organization, or the officials in Peru. At the same time, what can be done about drugs with inflated costs putting them out of reach of these poor patients? His travels take him to the prisons in Russia, which has a an extreme problem with TB as well. Prisoners are easy to study and monitor. He points out that the prisons are like a pump that cycles TB into the general population with prisoners who stay a few years and bring the disease back with him. You almost cheer when he gets a grant from the Gates foundation to develop a modified procedure to battle MDR-TB. He does not do any of this all by himself. There are a lot of truly dedicate people who recognize his talent and follow/help him all along the way. Kidder manages to capture many of these people as well. At still, Farmer's real talent is to be the catalyst that makes it all come together. It might be better to say it all flows around him... In the end, his success is due to one simple talent, and he says it best in his own words: "I like people." It is hard not to like him back.