Paul Farmer has battled AIDS in rural Haiti and deadly strains of drug-resistant tuberculosis in the slums of Peru. A physician-anthropologist with more than fifteen years in the field; Farmer writes from the front lines of the war against these modern plagues and shows why; even more than those of history; they target the poor. This "peculiarly modern inequality" that permeates AIDS; TB; malaria; and typhoid in the modern world; and that feeds emerging (or re-emerging) infectious diseases such as Ebola and cholera; is laid bare in Farmer's harrowing stories of sickness and suffering.Challenging the accepted methodologies of epidemiology and international health; he points out that most current explanatory strategies; from "cost-effectiveness" to patient "noncompliance;" inevitably lead to blaming the victims. In reality; larger forces; global as well as local; determine why some people are sick and others are shielded from risk. Yet this moving account is far from a hopeless inventory of insoluble problems. Farmer writes of what can be done in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds; by physicians determined to treat those in need. Infections and Inequalities weds meticulous scholarship with a passion for solutions—remedies for the plagues of the poor and the social maladies that have sustained them.
#1902035 in Books 2002-01-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.25 x 6.25l; 1.24 #File Name: 0520213637338 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Gerald RAn enlightening read; praise-worthy prose; well researched.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. An excellent look at a complicated and intriguing phenomenonBy Yaakov Ben ShalomA colleague of mine (also a professor) recommended this book to me; and I am glad that he did. This book is a first-rate portrayal of the complicated world of European philosemitism and strange attempts to re-create a lost Europan Jewish world. As a graduate student working on German-Jewish history; I lived for several years in Germany; and I witnessed this complicated and somewhat peculiar phenomenon first-hand. Gruber explains so well what I witnessed and have struggled to explain to others. In particular; I would recommend Part 1 to my students and to others wishing to find suitable course reading on this topic.8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. A heartwarming; scholarly masterpieceBy A CustomerRuth Ellen Gruber is the acknowledged authority on Central Europe's Jewish renaissance since the fall of communism and this is her best work so far. Drawing on years of hands-on experience and passionate commitment to uncovering hidden stories; she explores the paradox that Jewish life and culture is vigorously alive in regions where actual numbers of Jews are comparatively few.She examines everything from music to food; scholarship to jokes; culture to kitsch; and shows intimate knowledge of countless Jewish communities thriving throughout Eastern Europe. She describes how Jewishness in the region has triumphed over the twin traumas of the Holocaust and Communism to reconstitute a vibrant culture recognised and admired throughout the Jewish and non-Jewish world.This is a great book; sensitive; scholarly and life-affirming; of interest to anyone who cares about roots; history and survival. I loved it.
