Sherry Wenger S Recommended Book/Reading List- on Topics Important to Public/Community
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Sherry Wenger’s recommended book/reading list- on topics important to public/community health (Note: NOT a complete list and the length of my reviews do not subscribe importance)
Allport, S. (2006). The queen of fats: Why omega -3’s were removed from the western diet and what we can do to replace them. Berkeley and LA, CA: University of CA press.
Barry, J. (2005). The great influenza: The epic story of the deadliest plague in history. New York,
NY: Penguin Group. -chronicles the early detection and spread of the influenza pandemic of 1918 that started in Kansas and killed millions in the world.
Berry, W. (2009). Bringing it to the table: On farming and food. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press
(anything by Wendell Berry is remarkable!! He said “Eating is an agricultural act”.)
Bittman, M. (2009). Food matters: A guide to conscious eating. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Book/Cookbook combo. What we eat matters to our body and to the environment.
Bloom, J. (2010). American wasteland: How America throws away half its food and what we can do about it. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
A key book. A real game changer on what we could/should do with the food we throw away. Tons of new learning here.
Brown, L. ( 2012 ). Full planet, empty plates: The new geopolitics of food scarcity. New York, NY:
WW Norton and Co.
Campbell, T.C.,& Campbell T.M. (2004). The China Study: Startling implications for diet, weight loss
and long-term health. Dallas, Tx: Ben Bella Books.
This should be required reading in nutrition courses. This very important longitudinal study provides data that many of our acute and chronic diseases in the western world coincide with casein intake (animal protein) in our diet. A landmark study to know about. The documentary Forks over Knives is about this study and book.
Carr, G. L & Carr, G.C. (2004). A fierce goodbye: Living in the shadow of suicide. Scottsdale, PA: Herald
Press.
Charles, D. (2002). Lord of the harvest: Biotech, big money and the future of food. Cambridge, MA:
Perseus Books. Haven’t read yet… he was GC 2013 commencement speaker.
Chute, C. (1995). The Beans of Egypt, Maine. New York, NY: Grove Press. A fictional story of a large extended family living in cultural/ generational poverty who are educationally, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically resource poor. Includes many disturbing themes of violence, incest, rape and other ethical situations.
Daschle, T. ( 2008 ). Critical: What we can do about the health care crisis. New York, NY: St.
Martin’s Press.
Important book from a former senator who spent over 30 years in Congress working on health care legislation. Some of his ideas were borrowed for the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).
Downing, R. (2008). Life and death in America: Biblical healing and biomedicine. Scottsdale, PA. Herald
Press.
Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and
the collision of two cultures. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
Required reading for many nursing and medical schools. Important story/depiction of the clash of culture particularly with health beliefs/practices among a minority group (Hmong) and Western medicine and the tragic effects of those differences.
Friedman, T.L. (2009). Hot, flat and crowded: Why the world needs a green revolution –And how it can
renew our global future. New York. NY. Penguin Books.
Garrett, L. (2000). Betrayal of Trust: The collapse of global public health. New York, NY: Hyperion
Read this when you have a chunk of time. It’s almost 600 pages.
Gottlieb,R. & Joshi,A. (2010). Food justice: Food, health and environment. MA: MIT Press.
Goleman, D. (2009) Ecological intelligence: The hidden impacts of what we buy. New York, NY:
Broadway Books.
Key point is radical ecological transparency has a chance at changing the world.
Hersterman, O. (2011) Fair food: Growing a healthy, sustainable food system for all. New York, NY:
Public Affairs/Perseus.
Jacobson, M. and Lerza, C. (1975) Food for people not for profit: A source book on the food crisis.
Ballantine Books.
Jamison, K. R. (1995). A unquiet mind: A memoir of moods and madness. New York, NY: Vintage
Books/Random House. A fascinating account by a psychiatrist of her own decline with Bipolar disease.
Kidder, T. (2009). Mountains beyond mountains: The quest of Dr. Paul Famer, a man who would cure
the world. New York, NY: Random House.
Astounding book about a unique physician/anthropologist who spends his life caring for the vulnerable esp those with TB and AIDS in the developing world. Founder of Partners in Health. Author is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Inspiring book for anyone practicing in public health. A game changer for sure. Dr. Paul Farmer is to TB and AIDS what Greg Mortenson (Three cups of tea) is to uneducated girls in Afghanistan. Should be required reading for all nursing and medical students.
Kingsolver, B., Hopp, S.L. & Kingsolver, C. (2007) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life.
New York, NY: Harper Collins.
A great read. This is non-fiction. This literary giant takes you through a year of their family’s life after they decided to eat organically and locally only (locavore) for 1 year. The website for recipes and more info is AnimalVegetableMiracle.com. Tons of good ideas. Very inspiring . They grew most of their own food on a 42x22 ft plot and bought at farmers markets and other places like dairy farms and even made their own soft cheeses. They also ate what was in season and author cited the Menno cookbook Simply in Season as a source she used for meals. She calculated the cost of the yr to feed a family of 4 organically and locally was < .50c per meal per person or about $8 a day for her family. (She said this was less then when she qualified for food stamps). Contrast that with the 1.2 acres/per person or 4.8 almost 5 acres needed to feed a family of 4 on today’s nutritional consumption requirements. I MUCH bigger carbon footprint and much more healthy. It takes a LOT of corn for all that HFC in our food today! One favorite idea from book is to use layers of newspaper for mulch (covered by layer of straw). It keeps weeds from breaking through and breaks down into organic mass later on.
Koff, C. (2004). The bone woman. New York, NY: Random House.
Writings of a forensic anthropologist who was part of a team that dug up graves in Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Croatia to provide evidence of mass genocide for trial and prosecution of war criminals.
Lappe, F.M. (1971). Diet for a small planet. New York, NY: Random House.
A classic. The book that started the early food movement… particularly the notion that specific combinations of food (like beans and rice) could form complete proteins in the absence of animal proteins. Author posits that our economy and love of meat is driving the mess we are in with food in the world. She states 2/3rd’s or more of the grain grown is fed back to livestock to produce meat quickly (vs grass fed) and is therefore unavailable to meet the needs of the hungry world.
Lappe, A.(2010). Diet for a hot planet: The climate crisis at the end of your fork and what you can do
about it. New York, NY:Bloomsbury. Written by daughter of Francis Moore Lappe who wrote Diet for a small planet this is another excellent book with TONS of research info about our systems of food production today and it’s connection to climate change. She has lots of excellent stats about CAFO’s- Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Lots of good descriptions about ag politics and practices that contribute to the sources of gasses that lead to the greenhouse effect and ultimately global warming. Five keys for climate friendly farming= nature mentored, restorative, regenerative, resilient and community powered. The 7 principles for climate friendly diet- reach for real food, put plants on your plate (inc grass fed animals vs grain fed), don’t panic go organic, lean towards local, finish your peas …the icecaps are melting, send packaging packing, DIY food (ie.. garden, etc). Real Food Challenge is a program on college and university campuses. Less than 2% of food on college campuses is “real”.
Lappe, F.M. & Lappe, A.(2002). Hope’s edge: The next diet for a small planet. New York, NY:
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
Larimore, W. Flynt, S.,& Halliday, S. (2005). Super-sized kids: How to rescue your child from the obesity
threat. New York, NY: Hatchett Book Group.
Levine, J.(2006). Not buying it: My year without shopping. New York, NY: Free Press.
Fascinating account of this journalist’s sabbatical from consumerism for a year.
Miller, G. (2011) Empowering the patient: How to reduce the cost of healthcare and improve its quality.
Dog Ear Publishing.
An easy read with simply stated principles for the doctor/patient relationship to increase patient outcomes and satisfaction. Includes a number of case studies.
Miller, G. (2013). New book coming soon on dying a good death.
Mortenson, G. (2009). Stones into schools: Promoting peace with books, not bombs in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. New York, NY: Viking Penguin.
Another good one by this Nobel Peace candidate.
Mortenson, G. & Relin, D.O. (2006). Three cups of tea: One man’s mission to promote peace… one
school at a time. New York, NY: Viking Penguin.
Amazing story of Greg Mortenson and his ambitions and accomplishments in building schools for girls who were not being educated in Afghanistan and later Pakistan.
Nestle, M. (2006). What to eat: An aisle for aisle guide to savvy food choices and good eating.
New York, NY: North Point Press. Nestle, M. (2007). Food politics: How the food industry influences nutrition and health.
Berkeley, CA: University of CA press.
Incredible history and overview of the politics in the food industry by Marion Nestle who has been a key player in the field for decades.
Payne, R. (2001). A framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, Tx: aha! Process, Inc.
A landmark book written by GC grad Ruby Payne. Her theories and framework on poverty are known and used around the world in many settings but especially schools. Some of this content is discussed in N408 Community Health nursing course.
Payne, R., DeVol, P. & Smith, T.D. (2001). Bridges out of poverty: Strategies for professionals
and communities. Highlands, Tx: aha! Process, Inc.
Pelzer, D. (1995). A child called It: One child’s courage to survive. Deerfield Beach, Florida:
Health Communications.
Pelzer, D. (1997) The lost boy:A foster child’s search for the love of a family. Deerfield Beach, Florida:
Health Communications.
Pelzer, D. (1999). A man named Dave: A story of triumph and forgiveness . New York, NY: Penguin.
These 3 books by Dave Pelzer are a triology of his early and middle school years of life as he suffered severe abuse. He survived to write about it though his case was the 3rd worst case of child abuse in the state of CA. he was “rescued” by his school nurse, teachers and administrators. Incredible tribute to the social services system, CPS, courts and foster care programs in the U.S.
Planck, N. (2006). Real food: What to eat and why. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing
No nonsense book packed with amazing research.. much new learning for me. Learned more about nutritional biochemistry and science than I ever knew before. Especially good info on heart disease and diet. A must read.
Pollan, M. (2008). In defense of food: An eaters manifesto. New York, NY: Penguin.
One of my favorites. Pollan’s mantra “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” has a Garrison Keillor ring to it. Tons of research included here. One key point= eat real whole food not “edible food-like substances” and stay on the outside perimeter when shopping in the grocery store. In the U.S. we are overfed and undernourished. Many, many “nuggets” of insight here.
Pollan, M. (2006). The omnivores dilemma: A natural history of the 4 meals. New York, NY: Penguin.
An amazing account of the food we eat.. especially the cycle of corn in our diet. Overwhelming amount of detail on our food patterns and choices. A must read. Pollan, M. (2009) Food Rules: An eaters manual. New York, NY: Penguin
A fast read by this prolific writer. This is a handbook of 64 rules culled from his book “In defense of food”. These rules are short and sweet and cover Pollan’s mantra- “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. Some of my favorites= don’t eat something your grandmother would not recognize as food, avoid HFC and any ingredients you (or a 3rd grader) can’t pronounce or wouldn’t keep in your food pantry, avoid it if sugar is one of top 3 ingredients or if it has > 5 ingredients, stay out of the middle of the grocery store- shop the periphery, eat foods that will eventually rot (that can’t be preserved for a long time), eat it if it came from a plant not if it was made in a plant and not through your car window (as in drive thru/fast food), eat colorful (fruits and veggies) and variety, eat sweet foods that are found in nature, cook your own “junk” food (ie French fries, ice cream- too much labor and you will eat/want less), eat more like the French, Japanese, Italians and Greeks, eat slowly and stop before you are full, “treat treats as treats”, plant a garden and cook!
Pollan, M. (2013) Cooked: A natural history of transformation. New York, NY: Penguin.
Pollan, M. (2001). Botany of desire: A plant’s-eye view of the world. New York, NY: Penguin.
Fascinating approach to the subject of food/appetite and what constitutes desire.
Popkin, B. (2009). The world is fat: The fads, trends, policies and products that are fattening the human
race. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
A very comprehensive perspective both globally and historically of the trends in hunger in the world. Obesity is now a problem in some 3rd world countries. Author has decades of field experience collecting data and doing longitudinal studies in many developing countries. The research data and info are very impressive. One of the best books I’ve read on the topic.
Reid, T.R. (2009) The healing of America: A global quest of better, cheaper and fairer health care. New
York, NY: Penguin
Important book written by Reid who takes his ailing shoulder all over the world to compare treatment approaches and care in many healthcare systems around the world. Fascinating.
Roberts, P. (2008). The end of food. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY:
Houghton Mifflin.
Shilts, R. (1987) And the band played on: Politics, people and the AIDS epidemic.
New York, NY: St Martin’s Press.
Author is a journalist who chronicles the Aids epidemic from the first cases and how it was handled from the political, research, and medical communities. Fascinating epidemiological account of how the CDC and NIH did (or did not) track the spread of the virus. A 20th anniversary edition was published in 2007 with updates. This book is to HIV/AIDS as John Barry’s is to the pandemic bird flu in 1918.
Sinclair, U. (1964) The jungle. ?published
A classic that chronicles unsanitary and intolerable labor practices in the Chicago stockyards in the early 1900’s.
Swartley, W. M.(2012). Health, healing and the churches mission: Biblical perspectives on moral
priorities. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press.
Sweet, V. (2012). God’s hotel: A doctor, a hospital, and a pilgrimage to the heart of medicine. New
York, NY: Penguin.
Dr. Victoria Sweet is to HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, CA at Laguna Honda Hospital as Dr. Paul Farmer is to HIV/AIDS in Haiti or Mother Theresa was to the poor in India. An inspiring read.
Taylor, J.B. (2006). My stroke of insight: A brain scientist’s personal journey. New York, NY: Penguin.
A brain scientist’s diagnosis and account of her own stroke (CVA) and a detailed description of what was happening in her brain.
Vincent, N.(2009) Voluntary madness: Lost and found in the mental healthcare system. New York, NY:
Penguin.
A journalist goes undercover in 3 different mental health treatment facilities in the US and exposes their deficiencies. Should be required reading for any health care provider.
Walls, J. (2005). The glass castle: A childhood memoir. New York, NY. Scribner.
An autobiography by this journalist who is on staff at MSNBC and grew up in poverty in a dysfunctional family yet went on to an Ivy League school. Themes of addiction, mental illness, abuse/neglect, cultural/generational poverty yet survival and success against all odds.
Wasnick, B. (2006) Mindless eating: Why we eat more than we think. New York, NY: Random House
Interesting concept of re-engineering the middle margin or in other words making 100-200 cal changes/day that lead to big payoffs in weight loss over time. Categorized eaters by “type”.
Winne, M. (2008). Closing the food gap: Resetting the table in the land of plenty. Boston,
MA: Beacon Press.
Excellent overview of the issue of food security in the U.S. from someone who has been in the field for over 3 decades The “ food gap” widens when yuppies can afford and buy local, organic produce and the poor suffer from food deserts and insecurity especially in urban areas. Author discusses politics, food banks, redistribution, CSA’s, community gardens and farmers markets and their merit.
Wirzba, N, (2011). Food and faith: A theology of eating. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
**Special Report Time Magazine March 4, 2013- Bitter Pill: How outrageous pricing and egregious profits are destroying our health care by Steven Brill- This entire issue is a critical examination of the costs of our U.S health system and the impact it is having on lives and on the economy. It is simply unsustainable and very sobering. A must read for anyone in health care to understand what patients go through to pay for the health care we provide. This is a report of monumental importance! Films/dvd’s worth seeing (not a complete list)
An inconvenient truth- a documentary about global climate change -AL Gore (2006)
Contagion- Gwyneth Paltrow and a host of others star in this mainline thriller depicting a mysterious lethal epidemic (like bird flu) and the impact on the world as scientists rush to identify it and make the lifesaving vaccine. Scientists from CDC consulted as the film was being made to provide authenticity.
Dirt: The movie (2009). Can be summed up in “Dirt made my lunch”. Another great documentary on the importance of healthy soil to grow health food. Lots of interview with scientists (inc East Indian) on the importance of healthy dirt to the ecosystem.
Erin Brokovich (2000)- an excellent depiction of the epidemiological process as the key character (Julia Roberts) sets out to explore the effect of chromium in the water on inhabitants in a small rural town.
Escape Fire: The fight to rescue American healthcare (2012)- Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemkean “Inconvenient Truth” for the healthcare debate. “American healthcare costs are rising so rapidly that they could reach $4.2 trillion annually, roughly 20% of our gross domestic product, within ten years. We spend $300 billion a year on pharmaceutical drugs––almost as much as the rest of the world combined. We pay more, yet our health outcomes are worse. About 65% of Americans are overweight and almost 75% of healthcare costs are spent on preventable diseases that are the major causes of disability and death in our society”.
Food, Inc.- a documentary about corporate farming and agribusiness and its impact on health (2008)
Food Stamped: Is it possible to eat healthy on a food stamp budget?- a documentary (2011)
Forks over Knives- documentary about the book The China Study. Watch this if you don’t have time to read the book.
How to survive a plague (2012). Written by David France.- this is a documentary of the early years in the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the non-violent dissent and activism by ACT UP and TAG.
King corn:You are what you eat (2006). Another film about what we eat matters to our health and to our environment- locally and globally. Story of 2 young men who after having a nutritional analysis of their hair, embark on a journey to understand the “life cycle” of corn in the US- how grown, harvested, produced/processed. They did this by planting their own acre of corn and watched it progress through the industrial food chain- mostly into HFC and grain which was fed to livestock.. and the eventual loss of profit without federal subsidy.
One man, one cow, one planet. (2007). Written and directed by Thomas and Barbara Sumner Burstyn. A film about Peter Proctor (New Zealand)who is considered to be the father of biodynamic agriculture- an elite form of organic farming. He is transforming agriculture practices one man and cow at a time.. mostly in India now. Biodynamic farming is a higher form of organic farming with the perfect compost (essentially cow dung) which he believes is the blueprint for sustainable life in the future.
RX for Survival: A global challenge- a former PBS series on many public health issues facing the world today. I show several of these clips in the N408 Community Health course. (2005)
Sicko (2007) Michael Moore’s documentary about problems in the U.S. healthcare system. Comparison is made to healthcare systems in other parts of the world including Cuba.
Super-size me (2004)- a documentary of a man who chronicles the decline of his health (and biochemical markers ie cholesterol etc and development of significant heart disease) in a short time as a result of eating a diet of fast food where super-sized portions are the norm.
TedX lectures/conference on food, agriculture, environment, sustainability and the intersection of these concepts.
The future of food.(2004)- by Debra Koons Garcia. Another documentary what looks at large scale industrial agriculture and it’s effects on the planet. Organic and sustainable are key concepts. Lots of info on GMO’s and lack of science on long term effects on humans.
The 11th hour- a documentary about the status of the environment- Leonardo DiCaprio (2007)
The painted veil(2006)- a story about a bacteriologists experience tracking an epidemic of cholera in the Orient.
Typhoid Mary
Uncommon Causes (2009)- a series of films that look at the disparities in health status among various vulnerable groups based on racial and socioeconomic discrimination and inequality. Discusses the concept of wealth=health gradient.
Sherry Wenger MN,RN May 21, 2013 Updated- June 2013