This post was written by Hatchet columnist Ariel Kersky

“Mountains Beyond Mountains” By Tracy Kidder

What would you do if you knew how to cure disease in the Third World? What if you could do it for dirt-cheap?

In “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” Tracy Kidder tells the story of Paul Farmer, a man who received his M.D. and Ph.D. in medical anthropology from Harvard University. Since his undergraduate days, Farmer has been working and living in Haiti, trying to win the battle against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

Through his organization, Partners in Health, Farmer builds the team he needs to not only work in the field with him, but also write grants and get donations to decrease the cost of TB medication. His hard work and determination to even out the playing field in medicine has allowed for clinics to spread to three continents.

This page-turner makes readers think about how the other half lives, and how drastic change truly can begin with an individual.