Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
The Carroll College Alpha Seminar faculty have selected the novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder as the common reading experience for incoming first-year students. Students will be expected to read the book and be prepared to discuss the story before arriving on campus in August.
While the summer reading project gives new students a common discussion point, it also shapes the themes and conversations of many of the Alpha Seminar classes throughout the fall. In conjunction with the Alpha Seminar program, Carroll will also host Dr. David Walton, a Partners in Health doctor and key associate of Dr. Paul Farmer, as a guest lecturer during September. Dr. Walton came highly recommeded by one of our own alum, Dr. Stephen Sullivan, who graduated from Carroll in 1996. Dr. Sullivan earned his degree in Biology and was very involved on Carroll's campus. He now works as a reconstructive surgeon at the Children's Hospital in Boston and also spends time volunteering his services in Haiti each year.
The summer reading experience is an Alpha Seminar tradition. Carroll has had the privilege of hosting guest lectures by Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea (2007) and Seth Kantner, author of Ordinary Wolves (2008). Other Alpha Seminar summer reads have included The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and The Life of Pi.
Book Synopsis from Publisher's Weekly:
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 &3151; 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." 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 book is 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."
Mountains Beyond Mountains Questions
There are questions we would like you to consider after reading Mountains Beyond Mountains. Please read the questions in the back of the book and consider your responses to them. Thank you!
Download the questions in PDF format
Buy Mountains Beyond Mountains Online
You can purchase Mountains Beyond Mountains from several online retailers:
Author Biography from the Publisher
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.
Additional Links
NPR Story and Excerpt
CBS 60 Minutes Story on Paul Farmer