Cover Story
Books that Rock
Readers write about books that have changed the way they look at the world.
In the age of the e-book, I still have an addiction to the real thing. My bedroom reflects the depth of my trouble. On my nightstand are six books in various stages of being read: two on photography, one work of fiction for young adults, a collection of essays, a graphic novel (a thick comic book), and a work of nonfiction. An old desk along one wall is stacked with another 55 volumes; 30 more are piled up on the floor. And that’s just in one room. Many of these books hold ideas that have enriched my life in immeasurable ways. Some have transported me to lands and cultures and times I know little about. In many ways, their authors’ words have forever changed the way I think.
This is why I believe books are so important to our development as individuals and as physicians. They give us insight, fuel our dreams, broaden our thinking, and sometimes rock our world, upsetting our preconceived notions and making us see that the impossible is possible.
When Minnesota Medicine’s editors were planning this issue, I suggested we ask you, our readers, to tell us what books have rocked your world. We put out the question, and many of you responded telling us how you encountered a certain book at the right moment and why that was a powerful experience. Here are some of your recommendations as well as a couple of my own. Happy reading!
— Jon Hallberg, M.D., family physician and medical director, Mill City Clinic, Minneapolis
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
This book is mostly set in New York City in the 1970s, but in a way it represents a history of America—the coming together of people from profoundly different backgrounds and stations in life. McCann has explored this theme in his earlier novels but fully investigates it in Let the Great World Spin. Like all of us, McCann’s characters have their flaws. They have varying degrees of insecurity, vanity, selfishness, and pettiness that result in damaging and occasionally tragic consequences. But they also have moments of grace, courage, and compassion that touch and uplift one another, often through mysterious and indirect means. The novel plays out almost like a mystery, in which multiple story lines and the relationships between characters are gradually revealed. Long after you have read it, the book will keep you contemplating your own roles—as a child, a parent, a sibling, a friend, a colleague, a stranger, and an American.
— James T. Pacala, M.D.
Family physician and associate professor, University of Minnesota
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
by Michael Pollan
This book explained for me, for the first time in an understandable manner, how we as a country got into our current mess related to food, eating, and nutrition. I have spent a lot of time learning about nutrition and health, and In Defense of Food really put things in context for me. In addition to explaining why we are in this “eating mess,” it also lays out some “rules” for how we should eat. Some are obvious, others are not. One of my favorites is that you can eat all the junk food you want, as long as you make it yourself. This really changed how I think about junk food. Another idea I like is that if your grandmother wouldn’t recognize something as food, it probably isn’t.
I thought this book was so important that I sent copies to everyone in my family.
— Bruce Hubbard, M.D.
Emergency physician, Waconia
Heaven and Earth: Global Warming—the Missing Science
by Ian Plimer
Atmospheric science (especially the study of CO2 production, turnover, and sequestration) has been virtually hijacked by organizations with political agendas. Add to that total ignorance and even sympathy toward one group or the other by the mass media, and the public is left in total bewilderment about the facts regarding the accepted science on the interrelationship between the major carbon sinks on planet Earth. If average U.S. citizens are to make informed decisions about how best to respond to what may or may not be an alarming trend in global temperature change, they need to make the effort to understand the forces that have driven climate change in the past as well as the relative effect and natural turnover of atmospheric “greenhouse gasses” that are both naturally occurring and manmade.
Author and atmospheric scientist Ian Plimer has filled his book Heaven and Earth with the kind of raw data I, as a physician and scientifically oriented reader, demand but never receive from media sources. As Plimer eruditely describes the multiple celestial, solar, chemical, orbital, and physical properties that contribute to the Earth’s climate change, the question becomes whether atmospheric CO2 levels might in fact be driven by global temperature change, and not the other way around.
As I near the end of my 39 years practicing ophthalmology, I crave more and more knowledge about the fundamental forces that shape our planet and our lives and realize cynically that our ability to access this critical information is increasingly lost in the “noise” of the information age. That’s why I recommend this book without reservation.
— Ted Fritsche, M.D.
Ophthalmologist, Marshall
Black and Blue
by Anna Quindlen
As a gynecologist, I care for women who have experienced domestic violence. This book helped me (finally) to understand why women have so much difficulty leaving an abusive relationship.
— Laura Mueller, M.D.
Obstetrics and gynecology, Maple Grove
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
Mountains Beyond Mountains got me interested in global health. It helped me visualize what a career in that field might be like. When I found out I matched in Peru for the Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholar fellowship, I immediately went online to see what Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health (PIH) organization was doing in Lima. Although I decided to do research on chronic cardiovascular disease, I got to know a number of people who worked with the PIH organization there and was very impressed.
There are hundreds of people who do heroic work and are not acknowledged as heroes in the way Paul Farmer is, but we need this type of book to help educate people about the needs of the poor and inspire them to do something to help.
— Catherine Pastorius
fourth-year medical student, University of Minnesota
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese, M.D.
Cutting for Stone traces the lives of twin boys raised by Indian physicians working at a Catholic hospital in Ethiopia. The plot involves a sea voyage, civil war, infections and fistulas, separations, and a House of God-like experiences in the Bronx. Within the wild, sometimes uneven, and certainly outrageous story line are fascinating themes—about family, charity care in the Third World, human sacrifice, autism, foreign medical graduates in the United States, life, and love. It made me think about the nature of families, what it means to be a physician/healer, and the importance of culture. It kept me reading and tugged at my heart.
— Robert K. Meiches, M.D., M.B.A.
Chief Executive Officer, Minnesota Medical Association
Kitchen Table Wisdom
by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
Each time I pick up Kitchen Table Wisdom, I remember how idealistic I was as a med student. This book honors the human side of medicine, which is what attracted me to the profession in the first place. Certainly making the correct diagnosis is important, but being able to listen and connect with my patients (and their parents) opens the door to true healing. This book reminds me that medicine is an art and that being a physician is an honor.
Sarah Brandt, M.D.
Pediatrician, Edina
In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Female Development
by Carol Gilligan
and Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
by Rachel Simmons
As the father of two girls, these books demonstrate better than most the profound differences between men and women. After reading them, I realized that if I was going to be a good father, I’d better be attuned to what they’re saying and really listen to my girls.
John Song, M.D., M.P.H.
Internal medicine physician and assistant professor of medicine and bioethics, University of Minnesota
Jayber Crow
by Wendell Berry
Berry is one of my favorite authors. He writes remarkable poetry as well as fiction and nonfiction. Jayber Crow is the simple story of a barber raised in the American South and the importance of committed relationships between friends and neighbors in his community. I was born and raised in a small town, where my dad was one of two general practitioners who provided primary care for more than two decades. By working in such an intimate setting, Dad witnessed the best and worst about his patients; at the same time, he respected them unconditionally. I’ve always practiced in an urban setting, so I rarely see my patients outside the office. Regardless, I appreciate the sensitivity and compassion with which Berry analyzes universal human frailty and heroism.
Nancy J. Baker, M.D.
Family physician, Minneapolis
Animal Dreams
by Barbara Kingsolver
The book’s protagonist is a woman who has graduated from medical school and returns to her hometown to teach high school science and other “things” to a typical bunch of small-town teenagers. It’s a story of reflection, expectations, family dynamics and dysfunction, and dreams.
I read Animal Dreams at an interesting time in my life. I was 10 years into private practice and had three sons between 2 and 10 years of age. Maybe this timing had something to do with the book’s appeal, as the story is about searching for identity, “correct” choices, forgotten and rediscovered goals, a relationship with a father, and balancing reflection with what might be a wiser view of the future.
I’m always wondering about choices, journeys taken or not taken, and responsibilities to myself, my family, and the world around me. The book “rocked me” in that it raised a number of What ifs,What might bes, and What would I dos.
Paul Waytz, M.D.
Rheumatologist, Edina
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom
by Qanta A. Ahmed, M.D.
In the Land of Invisible Women is the story of a British Muslim physician who was trained in the United States and took a job in Saudi Arabia after her student visa ran out. The book provides a glimpse into the way women, even highly trained professional women, are treated in that culture. Ahmed worked in critical care at the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh from 1999 to 2001. Although she was accepted by other physicians, during meetings or conferences she was relegated to the back row. And when she stepped out of the hospital, she had to have a chaperone. The story goes on to describe her fears of being caught by the underground police and her Hajj—her pilgrimage to Mecca. I was surprised by how women are able to survive in spite of strict Islamic rules. We think of Saudi Arabia as one of our partners, but their treatment of women is disturbing to say the least.
— Ed Spenny, M.D.
Retired internal medicine physician, Fridley
Stones into Schools
by Greg Mortenson
Stones into Schools is a continuation of Greg Mortenson’s first book, Three Cups of Tea, which tells of his efforts to build schools for girls in Pakistan. Since his work began, Mortenson, the son of Christian missionaries, has helped build more than 200 schools in a very Islamic culture. Despite anti-western military sentiment in Pakistan and Afghanistan and war, his schools have been spared violence. Mortenson’s gentle and peaceful methods have attracted the attention of many people and organizations including the U.S. military. Even American schoolchildren have saved their pennies for these schools. After earthquakes hit this area in 2005, Mortenson and his friends continued to provide education in remote villages; and some of the first students are now returning to those villages as nurses and teachers and standing up to the Taliban. This book was inspiring in that it showed how one person can do miraculous things.
— Ed Spenny, M.D.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
by Daniel Pink
Nearly three years ago, I was given the opportunity to help create a new clinic. In preparation, I started reading dozens of books that are typically categorized as business or psychology. Lightweight books to some. But I found them to be fascinating, empowering, and filled with good ideas. One of the best I read was Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind. Pink, an editor at Wired, argues that for us to remain competitive in the global market, we need to focus on our greatest asset: our creativity, and the best way to do that is through integrative thinking, which uses both the left brain (logical, sequential) and the right (expressive, creative). He proposes that we develop six critical “senses” to think in this new way—design, story, symphony (the bringing together of disparate, seemingly incompatible pieces), empathy, play, and meaning.
For years, I’ve been fascinated with architecture, design, animated films, boundary-crossing ideas, and moving stories—things that have nothing to do with medicine per se. Never have I read a book that not only explained why I look at the world the way I do but also validated it. To read a book that does that, and to read it at such a critical time in my career, was revelatory.
— Jon Hallberg, M.D.
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Promote Peace …One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
Three Cups of Tea emphasizes the importance of an individual doing the small things, which after a while can really make a big difference. Educating women is one of the most important public health interventions of this century.
— Catherine Pastorius
Zeitoun and What is the What
by Dave Eggers
These two exemplary biographical novels are unparalleled exercises in empathic identification with their subjects. Zeitoun follows the adventures and misadventures of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American New Orleans resident who witnesses the pathos and carnage in his adopted home during Hurricane Katrina. While canoeing the streets and attempting to help all he encounters, he suffers unexpected, heart-rending injustice. Eggers’ earlier effort What is the What relates the incredible odyssey of Sudanese Lost Boy Valentino Achak Deng. Eggers effectively narrates Deng’s tale in the first person, conveying his immense grace and eternal optimism despite suffering the interminable chaos and unimaginable horrors of genocide and civil war as a young child. Eggers narrative style puts you in Zeitoun’s shoes so palpably that you feel present in the Katrina carnage, and he convincingly narrates the story of Deng from the character’s autobiographical viewpoint. Both works are inspirational and guaranteed to move the reader to tears.
— Erik St. Louis, M.D., Neurologist, Rochester
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
If I had to choose just one book to reread before the lights go out, it would have to be Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. When I read it 70 years ago, I felt as if I were on that voyage. I, as Jim, can still see blind Pew tap tap tapping up the path to my house, goofy Ben Gunn coming out from behind the tree on the island laughing because he moved the treasure, and, of course, that larger-than-life character Long John Silver. If I do nothing else as a writer, I hope to put the reader right there on the page with me in the same way Stevenson does, to feel the moment in time, and to enjoy the pleasure, as I have, of knowing and appreciating a situation or person.
— Harrison Farley, M.D.
Retired surgeon, St. Paul
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver writes beautifully. Although initially known for her fiction set in the American West, this novel focuses on the life of an American fundamentalist missionary family that travels to the Congo of West Africa. I’m intrigued by the way Kingsolver portrays cross-cultural conflict. Her characters deal with differences in dress, diet, customs, and spirituality in remarkably disparate ways—ways that, regretfully, result in devastating consequences.
I take care of many African immigrants in my practice. The novel provided me with important insights regarding the nature of post-colonial life in a Third World nation, as well as the imperative of cross-cultural sensitivity for those of us fortunate to have been reared in a nation of wealth.
— Nancy J. Baker, M.D.
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism
by Fritjof Capra
I was deadly sick 20 some years ago and very depressed. At times, I wanted to kill myself. A friend sent me The Tao of Physics. The book discussed the similarities between quantum physics and Buddhism. Both are built on the concepts of constant change and unpredictability. One of the book’s main tenets was the idea of letting things go. That message was extremely important to me as I recovered.
Recently, a friend’s husband was in a terminal state and unresponsive for five months. She was desperate. We sat down and talked about the idea of letting things go. She decided not to go further with her husband’s treatment. Instead of thinking about the bad things, you have to enjoy what you have and accept what is coming. You have to accept the constant change.
— Robert O. Fisch, M.D.
Retired pediatrician, Minneapolis
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
I come from generations of farmers, so the value of land resonates with me. This book is a story about how honesty and hard work pay off. It is a lesson about treating people (especially our families and loved ones) with honor and respect no matter how poor or wealthy we become. Each time I read it, the selfishness of Wang Lung angers me and the grace of O-lan reminds me to strive to be a calm, strong woman no matter what happens. In the end, the strength of our character and how we treat those close to us is what matters most.
— Sarah Brandt, M.D.
The Varieties of Religious Experience
by William James
I was in the middle of a reading quest to figure out what I could believe about what I could not know, and I felt like James reached out across time with remarkable clarity of thought. My quest began with the death of my youngest son at age 21. I realized from the first moment of knowing he was dead that all my years in science were of no use to me in dealing with the trauma. But in the predawn hours of that awful March morning, I knew immediately that to survive, I had to think beyond the secular, materialistic approach of science—especially of the neuroscience in which I had been immersed.
Andrew, our lost son, once laughed at me for thinking that the solutions to all of life’s problems were in books, but it was in reading that I found much comfort and wisdom. It took me a while to get around to James, and he really struck a chord. He approached the subject of religious experience in the same logical and analytical way that I approached neurology. He described what people experienced, and he did not reject what could not be explained away. He gave me permission to believe in what I could not know.
I read The Varieties of Religious Experience over several months, underlining on almost every page. I finished it on a solo drive to Colorado, while eating dinner at the bar of the Whiskey Creek Saloon in North Platte, Nebraska. As I closed the book, I wished William James could know that more than 100 years after he wrote his book, it meant a lot to a middle-aged woman in the middle of Nebraska.
— Elizabeth A. Reid, M.D.
Neurologist and medical writer, Bloomington
The Ghost Map
by Steven Johnson
The Ghost Map is about the London cholera epidemic of 1854 and the birth of epidemiology through the collaboration of a scientist and a cleric. It is the story of Dr. John Snow, an “anesthesiologist,” and Rev. Henry Whitehead, a local cleric, who combined their knowledge of bacterial behavior and community relationships to unravel the mystery of cholera’s communicability. In order to save lives, they challenged the miasma theory of disease spread and the social concept that disease was the result of moral failings. Johnson’s story is written like a page-turning murder mystery.
The Ghost Map reaffirmed for me the importance of using deductive reasoning when evaluating the mechanism of disease contagion. It also highlights the profound impact on public health that two individuals can have.
— Mary Pohl, M.D.
Pediatrician, St. Paul
Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter
by Steven Johnson
Several years ago, I read a New Yorker review of this book and bought a copy a couple of days later. How could I resist such a title? A contributing editor at Wired magazine, Johnson argues that contrary to what we think, popular culture has grown more complex and intellectually challenging over the past 30 years, and rather than dumbing us down, it has demanded that we be more and more engaged cognitively. His argument is most convincing (and controversial) in his discussion of video games. Although I’m tempted to dismiss the time my 14-year-old son spends with his PS-3 as a waste, Johnson argues that by “probing” (or exploring) virtual worlds and “telescoping” (or stacking one bit of information on another), gamers are thinking in ways that are both important and relevant today. Having owned an Atari game console when I was 14 in 1980 and having been utterly addicted to Myst, I can see some truth in what he writes. I did think differently during that time. Plus, I had a lot of fun. This book has changed the way I look at popular culture—and our multitasking, texting, IMing, Facebooking patients and children.
— Jon Hallberg, M.D.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
by Thomas Kuhn
This book made me think about how progress is made in science and how that is different from the way expertise is acquired in medicine. Published in 1962, the Structure of Scientific Revolutions was all but required reading where I went to college in the early 1970s. Kuhn, a physicist, made the phrase “paradigm shift” popular. His core argument is that major progress in science is not smooth and continuous, growing out of existing theories and led by the field’s senior people. Instead, it is the result of shifts in theory that are almost always proposed by younger people in the field (and often opposed by their seniors). In clinical medicine, by contrast, expertise comes from seeing enough patients to recognize many disease processes and variations in them. For that reason, senior physicians, as opposed to senior scientists, are not left outside their field’s new mainstream.
— Mark Liebow, M.D.
Internal medicine, Rochester