Book #8 - Mountains Beyond Mountains

The book: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

What is this book about: The story of Paul Farmer, who decided that he wanted to become a doctor to poor people. Through the simple will of wanting to do what’s best for patients around the world, he ends up fighting infectious disease and railing against the system in many impoverished countries, but really distinguishes himself by doing it one patient at time.

Why did I read this book: As I mentioned in an earlier entry, this was the UW Common Book, and basically I feel left out when large groups of people read a book that I’m not reading. Also, I was invited to go to hear Kidder speak at UW.

What did I think of this book: Great book. As I mentioned in the entry about the Tracy Kidder event, this book could be approached through the lens of many different fields, which I liked, and I can’t think of a book I’ve read recently that did that. But I guess most of all I appreciated that it made science and disease into a page-turner for me, because that’s not my strong suit. I liked that Paul Farmer wasn’t made into a saint (and Tracy Kidder will go to great lengths to establish that), although sometimes, during the points at which he is portrayed as argumentative and difficult to converse with, I couldn’t really understand what the argument was.

What was my favorite part of this book: The acceptance that not everyone in the world can change the world the way Paul Farmer has. But everyone can help, in the smallest of ways. The book ends with Farmer and Kidder taking a seven-hour hike just to make a house call on two families. Kidder acknowledges that some might think it’s futile for such a world-renowned scholar and doctor to be doing that when there’s so much else to be done, but “if you say that seven hours is too long to walk for two families of patients, you’re saying that their lives matter less than some others’ and the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world…This matters to him, I think—to feel, at least occasionally, that he doctors in obscurity, so that he knows he doctors first of all because he believes it’s the right thing to do. If you do the right thing well, you avoid futility.” (Kidder pages 294-295—please don’t sue me Tracy Kidder)

What did I learn from this book: That I’m not looking for the ways in which I can change the world.

What grade do I give this book: B