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Boo, that book sucks. I put it down halfway through and never picked it up again. If you want a good book, try Cutting Remarks, by Dr. Sid Schwab. It's about his surgical training at UCSF, and it's really really good. He's got a blog - http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com - that's also good.The House of God - Samuel Shem
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 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.
I just read Complications by Atul Gawande, it was a great read and I just ordered his newest book. Anyway, I was wondering what other books you guys would recommend.
Boo, that book sucks. I put it down halfway through and never picked it up again. If you want a good book, try Cutting Remarks, by Dr. Sid Schwab. It's about his surgical training at UCSF, and it's really really good. He's got a blog - http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com - that's also good.
I second Pillars of the Earth
For non-doctor books:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
(I'm not a steinbeck fan but I loved this book)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Good Doctor books:
The Intern Blues by Robert Marion
On Call by Emily Transue
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman
yeah it gets better. It was giving me an ulcer so I read the last chapter at 3 am last night.I'm about 200 pages in and there's something very intriguing about it but I am a bit disappointed because people called it a page turner and I woulnd't go that far. Tell me that it gets better - maybe all the characters are being set up right now which is why I am a tad bored. But I do find the characters and the writing itself interesting, but it seemed so built up that I'm afraid I'm heading down the slope of disappointment.
I'm about 200 pages in and there's something very intriguing about it but I am a bit disappointed because people called it a page turner and I woulnd't go that far. Tell me that it gets better - maybe all the characters are being set up right now which is why I am a tad bored. But I do find the characters and the writing itself interesting, but it seemed so built up that I'm afraid I'm heading down the slope of disappointment.
Has anyone read "Final Exam" by Pauline w. Chen? I keep meaning to pick up a copy but I haven't done so yet.
Thirded. I probably read it about 10 years ago now, and it was an excellent book.I second Pillars of the Earth
I just read Complications by Atul Gawande, it was a great read and I just ordered his newest book. Anyway, I was wondering what other books you guys would recommend.
The Dangers of Socialized Medicine by Jacob G. Hornberger
The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care
by David Gratzer
Lives at Risk: Single-Payer National Health Insurance Around the World
by John C. Goodman