The Global Education Community Book Club is pleased to announce its 2009-10 schedule as we explore the theme Global Health Care: Systems & Solutions.
Book discussions will be held at Biggby Coffee, 3160 Markway (Cricket West)
Meetings are free and open to the public.
Monday, September 21, 7:00 p.m.
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
from Booklist: “In his most compelling chronicle to date, this Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner investigates… in the company of Paul Farmer, a radical public health reformer devoted to providing medical care to the poor, mainly in Haiti. A Harvard-educated medical anthropologist, TB expert, and MacArthur “genius” gifted with an unshakable moral imperative, an ardent imagination, and limitless energy, compassion, and chutzpah, Farmer created Partners in Health, a renegade yet hugely influential organization… As Kidder accompanies Farmer on his exhausting and risky daily routines and epic travels, he parses the cruel realities of deep poverty and the maddening politics of international health care. Most importantly, Kidder portrays a genuinely inspired and heroic individual, whose quest for justice will make every reader examine her or his life in a new light.”All discussions will be led by Global Education Program Co-Director Josh Lavetter-Keidan.
Wednesday, December 9, 7:00 p.m.
Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis--and the People Who Pay the Price by Jonathan Cohn
from Publishers Weekly: “Drawing on research and riveting anecdotes, Cohn, a senior editor at the New Republic, describes how private insurers decide who and what they will—and will not—cover. Cohn points out that managed care initially had an altruistic goal of making health-care affordable for all. But by 1997, two-thirds of HMOs were controlled by for-profit companies concerned with making money rather than preventing and easing sickness. The author convincingly argues that Medicare and universal health care in such countries as France, though not perfect, are far superior to the system most Americans face. Cohn is eloquent, and he's good at using case studies to dramatize and explain complex issues.”
Thursday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.
The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters by Rose George
from Publishers Weekly: “With irreverence and pungent detail, George breaks the embarrassed silence over the economic, political, social and environmental problems of human waste disposal… The book shows how even advanced technology doesn't always meet basic needs: using toilet paper is shockingly unhygienic and millions of government-built latrines in developing countries have been turned into goat sheds and spare rooms…. From the depths of the world's oldest surviving urban sewers in to Japan's robo-toilet revolution, George leads an intrepid, erudite and entertaining journey through the public consequences of this most private behavior.”
All discussions will be led by Global Education Program Co-Director Josh Lavetter-Keidan
