This compelling and inspiring book, now in a
deluxe paperback edition, shows how one person can work wonders. In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Pulitzer Prize—winning
author Tracy Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who loves the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.
In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to
cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s
magnificent account 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.” 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 a force of gathering
revelation,” says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr notes, “[Paul Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly
this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.” 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 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.
“[A] masterpiece.”—USA Today
“Inspiring, disturbing, daring and completely
absorbing.”—New York Times Book Review
“Stunning. Mountains Beyond Mountains
will move you, restore your faith in the ability of one person to make a difference in these increasingly maddening, dispiriting
times. [Kidder has] held his writer’s mirror up to an astonishing comet of a man whose reflection flatters us all for
what it says about our capacity for mercy and healing.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
“Easily the most fascinating, most entertaining
and, yes, most inspiring work of non-fiction I’ve read this year.”—San Jose Mercury News
“It’ll fill you equally with wonder
and hope.”—People
“If I ever go on a retreat again, this
is the kind of book I’d like to take for spiritual reading. . . . [Kidder] knows it is impossible to live like Farmer,
but the impossibility is the very thing that can somehow give us life.”—Washington Post Book World
“In this excellent work, Pulitzer Prize—winner
Kidder immerses himself in and beautifully explores the rich drama that exists in the life of Dr. Paul Farmer…Throughout,
Kidder captures the almost saintly effect Farmer has on those whom he treats.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“[A] Skilled and graceful exploration
of the soul of an astonishing human being.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A fine writer and his extraordinary
subject: Tracy Kidder, in giving us Paul Farmer, lifts up an image of hope–and challenge–that the world urgently
needs. Simply put, this is an important book.” -James Carroll, author of Constantine's Sword
“The central character of this marvelous
book is one of the most provocative, brilliant, funny, unsettling, endlessly energetic, irksome, and charming characters ever
to spring to life on the page. He has embarked on an epic struggle that will take you from the halls of Harvard Medical School
to a sun-scorched plateau in Haiti, from the slums of Peru to the cold gray prisons of Moscow. He wants to change the world.
Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”—Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action
“A profoundly inspiring and important
book about one of the truly great men of our time.” —Ethan Canin, author of Carry Me Across the Water
“Here is a genuine hero alive in our
times. Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of gathering revelation. Like all of Tracy Kidder’s books,
it is as hard to put down as any good and true story.”—Annie Dillard, author of The Writing Life
“Mountains Beyond Mountains is the only
book I’ve read in years that made me feel like cheering. It left me uncomfortable, guilty, and exhausted—but it
also inspired me, kept me up all night, and moved me to tears. Some readers will find their lives changed forever; everyone
else will emerge, at the very least, with an unexpectedly revised set of values. Tracy Kidder has given us not only an unforgettable
book but an unignorable life lesson. Hurrah!” —Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
“Rarely has idealism fared so well on
the planet as in Tracy Kidder’s eloquently reported Mountains Beyond Mountains. One is tempted to call Paul Farmer’s
passionate sensibilities and loving ambitions otherworldly, but only in sadness that there are too few of him in the world.
Kidder has provided us all, as the Farmerites say, with a road map to decency, and such an endowment is beyond measure.”
—Bob Shacochis, author of Easy in the Islands
"Is there anything Tracy Kidder can't do?
This is a beautiful book, and a masterful one. Even better, Mountains Beyond Mountains is a page-turner that will crack your
conscience open." -Stacey Schiff, author of Vera
“An incredible story about an incredible
man told by an incredible writer. Mountains Beyond Mountains is the sort of book that makes you want to buy a hundred copies
and pass them out like a street corner evangelist. It's the sort of book that will affect your life in a profound way. In
a good way.” -Thom Jones, author of The Pugilist at Rest
“Saints are notoriously difficult
people, but who knew one could be so funny, so utterly charming, and finally so deft in accomplishing that most impossible
of all job descriptions—changing the world? Tracy Kidder's spellbinding story presents us with an unlikely saint and
finally, with inspiration so compelling it makes the usual cynicism about global change seem indulgent foolishness.”—Patricia
Hampl, author of A Romantic Education Review
“In
this excellent work, Pulitzer Prize—winner Kidder immerses himself in and beautifully explores the rich drama that exists
in the life of Dr. Paul Farmer…Throughout, Kidder captures the almost saintly effect Farmer has on those whom he treats.”
-Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
