Global Health Summer Reading

Georgetown’s International Health Faculty has you covered!

Economics and Development

The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty by Nina Munk
Recommended by Alayne Adams
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee
Myrtle McCulloch: “The book was presented here at Georgetown. In it, the authors describe how the amount of money spent by NGOs are based on assumptions, misrepresentations, and other preconceived ideas besides research. Since food security has poverty at its core, these chapters are discussed in my course (INTH 442; Consequences of Food and Nutrient Insecurity).”
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Eva Jarawan: “It’s a must-read for those interested in opening their eyes and minds to different cultures.” Also recommended by Bill McGreevey.
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Could Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
Recommended by Willy De Geyndt
Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights and the New War on the Poor by Paul Farmer
Recommended by Willy De Geyndt
The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly
Recommended by Willy De Geyndt
Planning and Budgeting in Poor Countries by Naomi Caiden and Aaron Wildavsky
Peter Bachrach: “Written more than 40 years ago, but still spot-on.”
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality by Angus Deaton
Recommended by Bill McGreevey

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Recommended by Eva Jarawan
The Healing of America: The Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care by T.R. Reid
Recommended by Eva Jarawan
Getting Health Reform Right: A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity by Marc Roberts, William Hsiao, Peter Berman, and Michael Reich
Vincent Turbat: “It’s a soft introduction to the health economics approach of global health.”

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
Myriam Vuckovic: “The undergraduates read it in their second semester in my course (INTH 202; Maternal & Child Health) and always love the book. The author came to campus in April to speak with our students.”
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Recommended by Willy De Geyndt

The Great Influenza by John Berry
Recommended by Jennifer Huang Bouey
The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe
Myriam Vuckovic: “It’s about infectious diseases and viruses — Wolfe is a biologist. Written more like a crime novel — fun and engaging.”
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
Claire Standley: “It’s a clearly-written overview of zoonotic diseases and their importance to global health. Intended for a general audience, but with sufficient technical detail to still be interesting to those in the field. Published in 2012, it’s eerily prescient of the 2014 West Africa ebola outbreak.” Also recommended by Jennifer Huang Bouey.

Africa’s Population: In Search of a Demographic Dividend edited by John May and Hans Groth
♦ Edited by John May, with two chapters authored by Vincent Turbat. Click here to learn more about their research . ♦
The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class — and What We Can Do About It by Richard Florida
Recommended by Bill McGreevey
How Population Change Will Transform Our World by Sarah Harper
John May: “This book offers a good introduction to key demographic concepts. It is illustrated with numerous graphs, which illuminate the core text.”

Understanding Social Networks: Theory, Concepts, and Findings by Charles Kadushin
Jennifer Huang Bouey: “This is a ‘what and why’ book, not a ‘how to’ book, particularly for students with little social networks background.”
Social Networks and Health: Models, Methods, and Applications by Thomas Valente
Jennifer Huang Bouey: “Great for seeing how these tools are applied in the real-world.”

On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt
Peter Bachrach: “Because, these days, everyone can use a little guidance.”
Emma’s War by Deborah Scroggins
Recommended by Peter Bachrach
The Medical Detectives: The Classic Collection of Award-Winning Medical Investigative Reporting by Berton Roueché
Recommended by Jennifer Huang Bouey
Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction (California Series in Public Anthropology) by Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, Arthur Kleinman, and Matthew Basilico
Recommended by Jennifer Huang Bouey

Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
Peter Bachrach: “Not sure why Sudan inspires great fiction, but it seems to.”
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
Eva Jarawan: “It’s about the role of women in British Kenya in the early 1900s.”
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
Eva Jarawan: “This book is about the role of women in British societies around World War I.”
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Eva Jarawan: “Set in Ethiopia, it deals will maternal health and medical training in an interesting story.”
The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
Bernhard Liese: “Short and impressive.”