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Humanitarian Action for the Twenty-First Century
by James Orbinski
Having seen things we hope never to see, confronted suffering and dispassion and evil we hope never to encounter, and faced deep personal torment, James Orbinski still believes in “the good we can be if we so choose.” His chosen medium for revealing this is stories from his own experience—a doctor’s indelible testimony from the front lines in Peru, Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Zaire—embodied in which are warnings, hope, and lessons in how we can inject humanitarian activity into our lives.
Being political, he has discovered, is not only reserved for politicians; admitting imperfection is essential to compassion. With an eye for detail like that of the finest journalist and the empathy of the most committed doctor, Orbinski’s powerful voice is matched by the urgency of his message. At a time of great political and moral uncertainty, An Imperfect Offering is invaluable reading for anyone who wants to make a difference.
"Starred Review. An important, consciousness-raising work." - Kirkus Review.
"The book manages to be both personal enough to construe the human toll of political and social disasters without falling into the trap of maudlin, patronizing depictions of human suffering." - Publishers Weekly.
This information about An Imperfect Offering was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
As the then international president of the Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Orbinski accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of MSF in 1999.
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