Mountains Beyond Mountains The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

by Kidder, Tracy

• ISBN13: 9780812980554
• ISBN10: 0812980557
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781588363343
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-25
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

About This Book

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

ISBN: 9780812980554

About the Book

"Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder is a compelling biography that delves into the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer, a renowned physician and anthropologist dedicated to curing infectious diseases and bringing modern medicine to those who need it most. The book takes readers on a journey from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia, showcasing Farmer's relentless pursuit of justice and his commitment to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity."

Who Uses It?

Primarily, this book is used by students and educators in medical anthropology, public health, and related fields. It is also a valuable resource for anyone interested in global health issues, medical ethics, and the intersection of politics and social systems in healthcare.

History and Editions

The book was first published on August 25, 2009, by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This edition includes a new Epilogue by the author, Tracy Kidder. The book has been widely praised for its insightful portrayal of Dr. Farmer's life and work, inspiring readers to question their own lives and political views.

Author and Other Works

Tracy Kidder is a celebrated author known for his engaging and detailed storytelling. Some of his notable works include "The Soul of a New Machine," "Home Town," and "Old Friends." Kidder's writing style is characterized by his ability to weave complex narratives into compelling stories that resonate deeply with readers.

Detailed Information

ISBNs and Formats

• Paperback: ISBN-13: 9780812980554
• Audiobook: ISBN-13: 9780739307663 (Note: This audiobook ISBN is for a specific edition)
• E-book: ISBN-13: 9781588363343 (Note: This e-book ISBN is for a specific edition)
• E-book: ISBN-13: 9781415918012 (Note: This e-book ISBN is for a specific edition)

Publication Details

• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
• Publication Date: August 25, 2009
• Number of Pages: 352 pages
• Dimensions: 5-5/8 x 8-1/4 inches

Other Editions and Formats

• Hardcover: ISBN-13: 9781588363343
• Audiobook: ISBN-13: 9780739307663
• E-book: ISBN-13: 9781415918012
• Deluxe Paperback Edition: Includes a new Epilogue by the author, published on August 1, 2009.

Related ISBNs:

• Hardcover: ISBN-13: 9781588363343
• Audiobook: ISBN-13: 9780739307663
• E-book: ISBN-13: 9781415918012
• Deluxe Paperback Edition: ISBN-13: 9780812980554

Note: The e-book ISBNs listed are specific to certain editions and should be verified for accuracy in each case.

Author Biography

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.


From the Hardcover edition.

Table of Contents

Doktè Paul	p. 1
The Tin Roofs of Cange	p. 45
Médicos Aventureros	p. 123
A Light Month for Travel	p. 179
O for the P	p. 239
Afterword	p. 299
Epilogue	p. 303
Acknowledgments	p. 313
Selected Bibliography	p. 315
A Reader's Guide	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Chapter 1

Six years after the fact, Dr. Paul Edward Farmer reminded me, “We met because of a beheading, of all things.”

It was two weeks before Christmas 1994, in a market town in the central plateau of Haiti, a patch of paved road called Mirebalais. Near the center of town there was a Haitian army outpost–a concrete wall enclosing a weedy parade field, a jail, and a mustard-colored barracks. I was sitting with an American Special Forces captain, named Jon Carroll, on the building’s second-story balcony. Evening was coming on, the town’s best hour, when the air changed from hot to balmy and the music from the radios in the rum shops and the horns of the tap-taps passing through town grew loud and bright and the general filth and poverty began to be obscured, the open sewers and the ragged clothing and the looks on the faces of malnourished children and the extended hands of elderly beggars plaintively saying, “Grangou,” which means “hungry” in Creole.

I was in Haiti to report on American soldiers. Twenty thousand of them had been sent to reinstate the country’s democratically elected government, and to strip away power from the military junta that had deposed it and ruled with great cruelty for three years. Captain Carroll had only eight men, and they were temporarily in charge of keeping the peace among 150,000 Haitians, spread across about one thousand square miles of rural Haiti. A seemingly impossible job, and yet, out here in the central plateau, political violence had all but ended. In the past month, there had been only one murder. Then again, it had been spectacularly grisly. A few weeks back, Captain Carroll’s men had fished the headless corpse of the assistant mayor of Mirebalais out of the Artibonite River. He was one of the elected officials being restored to power. Suspicion for his murder had fallen on one of the junta’s local functionaries, a rural sheriff named Nerva Juste, a frightening figure to most people in the region. Captain Carroll and his men had brought Juste in for questioning, but they hadn’t found any physical evidence or witnesses. So they had released him.

The captain was twenty-nine years old, a devout Baptist from Alabama. I liked him. From what I’d seen, he and his men had been trying earnestly to make improvements in this piece of Haiti, but Washington, which had decreed that this mission would not include “nation-building,” had given them virtually no tools for that job. On one occasion, the captain had ordered a U.S. Army medevac flight for a pregnant Haitian woman in distress, and his commanders had reprimanded him for his pains. Up on the balcony of the barracks now, Captain Carroll was fuming about his latest frustration when someone said there was an American out at the gate who wanted to see him.

There were five visitors actually, four of them Haitians. They stood in the gathering shadows in front of the barracks, while their American friend came forward. He told Captain Carroll that his name was Paul Farmer, that he was a doctor, and that he worked in a hospital here, some miles north of Mirebalais.

I remember thinking that Captain Carroll and Dr. Farmer made a mismatched pair, and that Farmer suffered in the comparison. The captain stood about six foot two, tanned and muscular. As usual, a wad of snuff enlarged his lower lip. Now and then he turned his head aside and spat. Farmer was about the same age but much more delicate-looking. He had short black hair and a high waist and long thin arms, and his nose came almost to a point. Next to the soldier, he looked skinny and pale, and for all of that he struck me as bold, indeed downright cocky.

He asked the captain if his team had any medical problems. The captain said they had some sick prisoners whom the local hospital had refused to treat. “I ended up buyin’ the medicine m

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Excerpted from Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.