Molly Ivins favorite book...
alternet.org
<<...My favorite book this year is "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer" by Tracy Kidder. It's about two things simultaneously. The first is the life an extraordinary man, Paul Farmer, who has simply thrown himself – all his time, talent and every ounce of his energy – into saving lives, particularly of those most desperately in need of help. The man pretty much set out to save the world and damned if he isn't making progress. It's an amazing story: He just went to Haiti and started working, and now he's changing medical thinking all over the world.
Sounds daunting, doesn't it? The book jacket describes Farmer as "brilliant, charismatic, charming." Actually, he sounds like someone you'd really like to know. You'd have to run to keep up with him, but apparently he's a nice and even funny guy, on top of being a MacArthur Foundation-certified genius.
That gets us to the second thing this book is about: us. So why aren't we doing what Paul Farmer is? Or even one tenth as much as Paul Farmer is? The trouble with reading about someone who is doing with his life what all of us know we should be doing, too, is that it really puts you on the spot. Kidder, a meticulous reporter, is brilliant at taking us through all the reactions to this guy – admiration, envy, self-justification, rationalization, churlishness. What is with this guy Farmer, does he have a martyr complex or something? Finally, I think, the only possible way to take Farmer is for what he is – an inspiration...>> |
