Magnetic appeal: MRI and the Myth of Transparency by Kelly A. Joyce

Recommended by: Stephan J. Macaluso, Librarian
Call Number: Stacks RC78.7.N83 J69 2008


Ever wonder why Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is today’s “go-to” diagnostic procedure? Why radiologists prefer black & white MRI images to color? Or why they prefer to look at the images instead of the equally revealing numerical data created by the same machines? Kelly’s investigation into MRI technologies uncover a number of myths about whether an MRI is always useful or required. Like the one perpetuated by movies and TV dramas, where MRI can see exactly what's wrong with patients, and even fix what ails them. Our own highly visual culture is also to blame for this misperception. And insurance companies, MRI and drug manufacturers, the legal system and even physicians themselves are also complicit in the overuse and over reliance on MRI technology. A very readable current history of MRI that may change the way you see the medical profession.

Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson

Recommended by: Stephan J. Macaluso, Librarian
Call Number: Stacks RJ506.D47 H83 2008

Robert and Julie’s daughter, Schuyler, was born with a malformation of the folds of the brain. It robs Schuyler of speech and fine motor control. Robert refers to her condition as a Monster: it is a very rare disease with dire consequences and a frightening name; it lay in wait from before Schuyler’s birth, only to manifest itself at age three. Schuyler, Robert and Julie endured years of testing before her diagnosis--Schuyler was originally thought to be autistic. After much research, consultations with leading experts and a series of unforgettably enervating meetings with school officials, Schuyler began special classes and was given an electronic speech device, paid for in part by readers of Robert’s blog. This book is as much about a father’s unconditional love for his daughter as it is about a child with a complicated disease. Robert is a fine storyteller and this memoir is an honest, inspiring and very real look at fatherhood, coping, and a family’s resilience.

What is the What : The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers

Recommended by: Megan Coder, Librarian
Call Number: Stacks PS3605.G48 W43 2006

What is the What is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story about Valentino Achak Deng, a Lost Boy of Sudan. Dave Eggers tells his story through fact and some fictionalized accounts. It’s amazing to read all that Valentino went through during his flight from Sudan to escape the civil war where over two million people died. He had to leave his family without ever seeing them again, watch many of his dear friends die on the treks to Ethiopia and Kenya, endure countless days without food or water, and tolerate many trials and tribulations at various refugee camps. However, Valentino is a hopeful soul and though his tale is full of much sorrow What is the What is an inspirational read because of his positive attitude and resilience.

Nursing America: One year behind the nursing stations of an inner-city hospital by Sandy Balfour

Recommended by: Stephan J. Macaluso, Librarian
Call Number: Stacks RT34 .B34 2005

UK-based TV producer and journalist Balfour shadowed the nursing staff at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Tennessee (“The Med”) for more than a year and a half beginning in 2003. The Med treats a disproportionate share of the region’s crime victims, suicide attempts, high-risk deliveries and accident casualties. Many patients cannot possibly pay for the services they receive. One thing that makes The Med so special is its nurses, whose knowledge, optimism and sense of humor enable them to heal others while coping with the trauma they see each shift. Balfour introduces us to their families, their spiritual lives and their hopes for the future; we learn why they stay so long at The Med. Despite different backgrounds, they all display an inspiring level of caring and joy in their work. An enlightening look at the urban poor, the state of American healthcare and the diversity of the nursing profession.

Sleeping Arrangements by Laura Shaine Cunningham

Call Number: Stacks PS3553.U478 S5 2000

The One Book, One New Paltz selection for 2008.

This book, Laura Shaine Cunningham's childhood memoir, has been widely acclaimed. After her mother died of cancer when she was eight years old, Cunningham was raised and nurtured in a family made up of her two eccentric uncles and an equally unusual grandmother. Michiko Kautani in the New York Times described Sleeping Arrangements as a "wonderfully vivid chronicle of a young girl's coming of age...funny and sad, irreverent and generous...A model memoir."

Cunningham, who lives in the region and is a native New Yorker, is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and journalist. Her memoirs Sleeping Arrangements and A Place in the Country , were both excerpted in the New Yorker magazine. In addition, Cunningham has written for the Atlantic Monthly, Allure, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and the New York Times.

For more information about One Book, please visit: http://www.onebookonenewpaltz.org/

Hope in hell : inside the world of Doctors Without Borders by Dan Bortolotti

Recommended by: Stephan J. Macaluso, Librarian
Call Number: Stacks RA390 .F8 B67 2004

Better known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Doctors Without Borders has led humanitarian missions to the world’s most dangerous places, including Rwanda, Angola, Chechnya and Iraq. Under unimaginable conditions, MSF personnel administer local clinics and deliver food, vaccines and clean water to the world’s refugees in an effort to restore their health and dignity. The work is perilous: MSF workers risk falling victim to infection, assault and kidnapping. They are often helpless to remedy otherwise treatable conditions, like starvation, malaria and cholera.
After witnessing mass displacements and even genocide, many MSF workers simply cannot cope with post-mission home life, and MSF has become famous for speaking out against the injustices that give rise to disease and disaster. Hope in Hell tells MSF’s story through the eyes of its workers. Their stories are sometimes funny, sometimes shocking and heartbreaking. The volume includes an excerpt from the compelling and controversial Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by MSF leader James Orbinski. An enlightening read for anyone who’s ever thought about volunteerism, humanitarian aid, or the state of global affairs.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Recommended by: Heather Whalen Smith, librarian
Call Number: PR4494 .M62 2007

At his death, Colonel John Herncastle bequests the Moonstone, a cursed diamond of great value stolen from an Indian temple, to his niece, Miss Rachel Verinder. The diamond disappears, however, the night after Mr. Franklin Blake delivers it to Miss Rachel. Who stole it? Was it the Hindu Indians that devoted their lives to recovering the diamond? Was it a guest at Miss Rachel's birthday party? Was it one of the servants? Franklin Blake devotes himself to the mystery of the Moonstone in hopes of winning Miss Rachel's affections. The story is narrated by multiple characters concerned with the disappearnce of the Moonstone.