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Rating: 
Summary: Overall pretty good
Review: An interesting book about a remarkable doctor's travels. He comes across as quite honest, even a bit naive at times. He never gets into discussions of humanitarian philosophy (i.e. working as a surgeon for an insurgent force isn't exactly neutral). Indeed, it's unclear as to how much he knows about it in general. I think this actually makes for a better story as he is quite forthright. It is also interesting to follow his exploits with what are clearly some fly-by-night aid groups. Despite a somewhat awkward ending - in which he attempts to make philosophical connections between his work with over-stressed executives and his prior international work - overall it makes a fine read.
Rating: 
Summary: Graphic and Evocative
Review: Anyone hoping to write a memoir on working overseas should read this astonishing and totally engrossing autobiography. Kaplan has led the life of a wandering surgeon, pursuing his career on five continents over the course of 30 years, and dabbling in fields as diverse as filmmaking, medical research, and battlefield trauma surgery.
South African by birth, Kaplan fled to the U.K. during the turbulence of the late 1970s and then did medical research in the US. Only boredom and curiosity led him to volunteer to work on the Iraq-Turkish border during the Gulf War, an experience that inspired him to seek out dangerous and bizarre jobs in Kurdistan, Mozambique, Eritrea, Burma, and the Brazilian Amazon. In every case, his consummate skill as a surgeon serves him well and allows him to save lives under the most desperate circumstances. Moreover, his humanism, compassion and intuition lead him to record vivid insights into human behavior under these extreme situations.
The descriptions of his surgical procedures are elegant but thoroughly clinical, intended for other professionals, and yet flavored with a kind, earthy sense of humor and even modesty. Strangely, he is often silent in regard to his own personal growth during these many years of globetrotting, and the reader is sometimes left trying to grasp Kaplan's own motivations.
Although the book contains few dates, I gathered from other clues that Kaplan worked in Brazil and Mozambique at the same time as I did, and so I can confirm his tale of nearly being killed by bandits on the road to Swaziland-a common occurrence-and of children poisoned by mercury in the Amazon. His prose is graphic, imaginative and evocative; he leaps breathlessly from one adventure to the next in a career so filled with horror and beauty that you just know it has to be true.
Rating:
Summary: The Incomparable Jonathan Kaplan
Review: I had the opportunity to see Jonathan Kaplan speak about his book at a reading in Harvard Square and to chat with him afterward. His unbounded dedication to exploring the developing world and to help remedy the vast horrors in these regions are nothing short of heroic. His experiences and insights provide us with a sharp glimpse into the medical challenges within developing nations while showing that those who stray from conventional paths can alleviate more human suffering in a short time than most of us will ever hope to over the duration of our lives.Jonathan Kaplan is anything but "self-righteous, smug and sanctimonious," as one reviewer on this web site wrote. After seeing him speak, one realizes that he is the genuine article, a man who thrives on the chaos and challenges of saving lives in areas of the globe to where most westerners would not ever dare travel. When I finished his book, I realized that although the idea of humanity can take many forms, there are few humanitarians in this world who take the same form as Jonathan Kaplan.
Rating:
Summary: A great story about modern wartime medicine!
Review: If you're considering a medical career and would like to learn more about medicine while reading a highly entertaining and engaging story, this it. The author tells a great story with great style. Most of the book revolves around a very non-traditional surgical career that probably won't be applicable to readers (unless you plan on working in war torn countries for a living), but it still fascinated me medically and professionally. The only negative statement I can make (and this is nit-picking) is there isn't more pictures and maps. This is a true story about fascinating people and places explained in great detail. It would have been great to see what the characters and patients really look like. And most of locations are so foriegn that maps of the villages and battle fields would have helped me follow the story better.
Rating: 
Summary: fascinating read
Review: Kaplan has written a piece that isn't necessarily profound, but provided some new perspectives on international medicine for me. Indeed, as another reviewer remarked, he sees the world of modern medicine through socialist glasses. This should not, however, prevent anyone from picking up this book--I strongly disagree with him on many of his analyses of American health care, yet still enjoyed his intelligent, often humorous writing. As a future surgeon, I found his career and experiences fascinating, and once again proving that practicing medicine in Suburbia USA and making money are not the necessary components of a fulfilling career.
Rating: 
Summary: Socialist propaganda thinly disguised as a medical journal
Review: nice material for a profile in the new yorker magazine
but 400 pages of hardcover padding is another recent example
of surgeons and patients who have an interesting experience that is simply not enough to fill a whole book.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Political and socialist views aside, the book was a great read. The author has the worst case of wanderlust I have ever seen, and can't seem to sit still for five minutes. I especially enjoyed the cruise ship experiences.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Political and socialist views aside, the book was a great read. The author has the worst case of wanderlust I have ever seen, and can't seem to sit still for five minutes. I especially enjoyed the cruise ship experiences.
Rating:
Summary: Top-Notch Book for Doctors in International Medical Work
Review: This is a surprisingly well-written book that is an exhilarating journey with the surgeon-author who has been to most places on Earth and has remarkably vivid stories to tell. This book is a must for anyone in the medical professions who has any interest in working or volunteering abroad. It lays to rest many of the myths of international relief work; in addition, Kaplan does well to strip romanticism from what can be grueling and brutal conditions. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Man's inhumanity
Review: You do not meet many people like Dr Jonathan Kaplan, more's the pity. In this beastly world, where there's so much death and destruction, we need people to pick up the pieces, and not many can or do. Not many are even capable of doing so. Dr Kaplan is multi-talented - he has certainly picked up the pieces and sewn them together and saved lives in war zones around the world. This is voluntary work, and the stories are horrific. I cannot understand how he could be criticized for it. It is lucky that he can also write so well, and give the rest of us an idea of what is really going on. The account of the rough times is broken by a welcome break as he describes his time as a ship's doctor, and as a doctor, flying anywhere in the world to check out patients for insurance companies. He gives interesting background to the various conflicts he finds himself in and the people he meets and also side trips he sometimes is able to make in the numerous countries he finds himself in. He was even able to take a quick trip around my island, Bali, when the cruise ship dropped anchor there. Maybe I met him. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is well written and readable and has won several prizes already. It will give you an insight into another slice of life.
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