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Farmer's long defeat is, in fact, `victories beyond victories.' In an initial reading of this book, I was disturbed by how easily Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder lost his reporter's objectivity in trailing Farmer on his global doctor-rounds. Paul,' and how his charm and dedication are channeled into fighting for quality healthcare for the poorest of the poor. (Update: How ironic that it is not man's institution of structural violence that has torn apart Haiti's healthcare system -- as movingly described in Kidder's book--but instead natural violence, this devastating earthquake).Paul Farmer's `long defeat' against structural violence in global healthcare is a radical and winning way to tackle `mountains beyond mountains' in Tracy Kidder's book by the same name. Yet, it serves to show the reader how personally captivating is `Dr. Even Kidder himself is won over.In the end no one--not even a prize-winning author--dares to sit on the sidelines of global health and not be moved by Farmer's forceful call to action. Through his approach to patients, institutions, and diseases, Farmer lives out his `long defeat' belief (based on Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings") in Haiti, Russia, and Peru by treating the poor with so-called preferential options to which they otherwise would not have access. In so doing, Farmer's assumption that healthcare is a right and not a commodity effects changes in healthcare policies around the world, lessening the impact of structural violence: one patient, one institution, one disease at a time.
It makes you thankful that there are people out there willing to devote their lives to a cause. This is a biography of Paul Farmer, a doctor and anthropologist who works and lives in Haiti.
They are practically our back-yard neighbors and. Kidder really is one of the best biographers/writers out there. It definitely is enlightening and helped me understand the world just a little bit more. This man seemed to be living in the air more than he is living on land as he is always flying off somewhere.Kidder writes an intimate piece of Farmer as well as incorporating the situations that Farmer finds himself in in various parts of the world. I picked this book up after several friends mentioned it while talking about the situation in Haiti. I initally thought it would be a dry biography of a famous doctor and all that stuff. It is filled with historical tidbits, medicine studies and more. He takes his doctoring skills very seriously and tries to treat every one of his patients with compassion (which seems to be sorely lacking in the medical field these days).
It is disturbing to read about their history, lack of education, lack of proper sanitation, proper medicine and more. This book blew me away. He shatters all the stereotypes that one may have about poverty, lack of sanitary care and more. He sees beyond that and that alone is inspiring and somewhat intimidating. He founded Partners in Health with two of his friends and strived to bring cheaper, workable drugs to TB/AIDs patients, not only in Haiti, but in South America, Russia, Cuba and other places as well.
and humanely. Hopefully, his vision will continue to reach out to others in the future.This is a fascinating book. It is inspiring and this book is definitely one that I will recommend to others.1/29/10 He may be an ordinary man, but his vision is extraordinary and far-reaching. it's just sad, disturbing and even more, tragic. No one can be that good (and he is human after all). I was wrong.
This is a breath-taking tale of a man who wants to help his patients and help them get healthy. He is truly a humanist in spite of all of his fancy degrees. I know next to nothing about Haiti and this book is disturbing regarding how impoverished this country really is. Paul Farmer is really an ordinary man with an extraordinary passion.
Understand, this book to me is more about poverty and inequality than about Dr. I don't think Paul Farmer's techiques are long term solutions, but I do think we need to globally understand the concept of liberation theology: God provides, but does not necessarily share; that is our job.
But his courage and generosity of spirit are. Paul Farmer's techniques and life style choices are not my aspiration.
Paul Farmer is an anomaly, to the point, he is almost annoying. It is more about the unfairness of this world, and how we can try to do something about it.
But he is also amazing; his passion, his skill, his energy.
Farmer.
That said, I would have liked a bit more commentary from the author, Kidder, about Farmer's opinion as to Jean-Bertrand Aristide's alleged abuses of power. One might argue that this doesn't detract from the quality of the book and I agree to an extent. It's amazing that it took so long for his work to be highlighted.
The problem is that if you're going to infuse a bit of politics into the book about health crisis and charity work, and praise for one particular man - Jean-Bertrand Aristide - I would like to see what Farmer thought about things that Aristide is accused of doing - things that are directly at odds with what Aristide is described as doing in the book (i.e., human rights abuses, alleged drug trafficking, corruption, accusations of wire-transfers to relatives' companies, etc). The book is a moving call to action. My point is only that if the author, in a role of a reporter, is going to mention Farmer's support of Aristide, there should have been at least one sentence mentioning of alleged abuses.
As most reviewers here, I was impressed by Paul Farmer's drive to treat TB, especially in Haiti. When Aristide was overthrown in 1994, Farmer was outraged and wanted Aristide to return because he saw Aristide as a force for stability and funds for his clinic, as opposed to the military that made life for his clinic difficult, with short supplies and constant check points. At the same time, however, having read the book again recently, after learning more about Aristide, I was struck by the seeming omission of any mention Aristide's involvement in anything but great works.
As the majority of reviewers, I agree that what Farmer did and continues to do for the world's poor and sick makes everyone, including me, want to be better human beings. Jean-Bertrand Aristide is presented very positively in the book - as a personal friend of Farmer who helped his clinic with food and money.
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