Mountains Beyond Mountains (Adapted for Young People): The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World - Softcover

Kidder, Tracy; French, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 038574319X ISBN 13: 9780385743198

Publisher: Ember, 2014

Synopsis

From Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Truck Full of Money, and adapted by Michael French comes this captivating and critically acclaimed young adult adaptation of the nonfiction edition of Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, which tells the inspiring story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard-educated doctor with a self-proclaimed mission to transform healthcare on a global scale.

Farmer focuses his attention on some of the world's most impoverished people and uses unconventional ways in which to provide healthcare, to achieve real results and save lives. From his humble beginnings and atypical childhood to his education at Harvard Medical School and on to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia, Farmer dedicated himself to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity." He sets an example of a life based on hope and understanding of the Haitian proverb "Beyond mountains there are mountains"—as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.

"An important story that feels like it breathes a dose of virtuous oxygen right into readers' heads."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
 
"Accessible and fascinating...It's focus on Farmer the humanitarian provides a much-needed education in empathy."—Booklist
 
"A thoughtful examination of a complex man operating in a complex world."—The Horn Book

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year Selection

A CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies Selection

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, and Home Town. He has been described by the "Baltimore "Sun as the "master of the non-fiction narrative." This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life's calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer--brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti--blasts through convention to get results.
Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity" - a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners In Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.'s World Health Organization, and others in his quest to cure the world. At the heart of this bookis the example of a life based on hope, and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb "Beyond mountains there are mountains": as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.
"Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation," says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr says, "[Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it."

"From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

TRACY KIDDER graduated from Harvard University and studied at the University of Iowa. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, and many other literary prizes. The author of My Detachment, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Home Town, Old Friends, Among Schoolchildren, House, and The Soul of a New Machine, Kidder lives in Massachusetts and Maine.

MICHAEL FRENCH has published twenty books, including fiction for adults and young adults, biographies, and art criticism. He has adapted many acclaimed adult works for young people. Michael French divides his time between Santa Barbara, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ember
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 038574319X
• ISBN 13: 9780385743198
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288