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jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Hans Rosling was a Swedish doctor who has become world renowned through TED Talks and his book [b:Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think|34890015|Factfulness Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think|Hans Rosling|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544963815l/34890015._SY75_.jpg|56144100] among other things. In this memoir, he tells of his childhood growing up in Sweden and how each generation of his family became more educated and better off financially. He then tells of his marriage and parenthood and their decision to move to Mozambique to work in an area that was deficient in medical care. Through this work, he develops a passion for advocating for healthcare for less well-off nations. This book is less about the data than it is about what people and events in his life influenced him and how he brought awareness of healthcare parity to the world stage.
I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did an excellent job expressing the intended mood. It was a nice book to listen to today, as we wrap up 2020, about a man who spent time trying to make the world better for those who don't have the means.
thank you to the publisher for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did an excellent job expressing the intended mood. It was a nice book to listen to today, as we wrap up 2020, about a man who spent time trying to make the world better for those who don't have the means.
thank you to the publisher for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
functionalstoic's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
funsized327's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
mhdtim's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
maralyons's review against another edition
5.0
How I Learned to Understand the World by Hans Rosling is an incredibly fascinating memoir in which he reflects on his life as a doctor and in public health and what has shaped his world view and opened his mind. Rosling is famous for his Ted Talks and previous book, Factfulness, in which he explains how much progress humankind has made in the 20th and early 21st centuries in terms of escaping poverty, increasing lifespan, and the portion of the population that is vaccinated against deadly diseases. Though the world has gone through massive improvements, but our perspective of how things actually are often don’t jibe with that truth.
Rosling recounts through his life chronologically, beginning in his childhood and documenting the huge leaps his own family made in terms of getting out of poverty in 1-2 generations. It was fascinating considering how much changed in the 20th century alone. This leap out from poverty is mirrored in many other countries around the world.
The middle part of the memoir focuses on his time as a young doctor serving in Mozambique and the gargantuan expectations as one of the only doctors serving a deeply impoverished community of 100,000 people with few resources and staff. It was clear how much that changed him and caused him to reconsider the best way of care and communications and whether it was most important to care individuals at the hospital or determine ways to prevent the need for care in the community.
From there, he discusses his career as a professor and work in public health. Towards the end of his life, through his TedTalks, he became known for his vibrant statistics about how the world has changed in the 20th century. The illustrations really amplified his message and the statistics he was presenting.
Throughout the memoir, I had a great sense of Rosling’s personality. He could be chatty and warm, but also was deeply contemplative and sometimes shrewd. I think this kind of compartmentalization was necessary in life because of the difficult work he performed in his career. Rosling was keenly interested in improving conditions around the world, making discoveries, and having his data/research understood by many. The narration by Simon Slater was wonderful and kept me interested and seemed to fit with the tone of the book. I highly recommend this memoir!
Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this audiobook ARC.
Rosling recounts through his life chronologically, beginning in his childhood and documenting the huge leaps his own family made in terms of getting out of poverty in 1-2 generations. It was fascinating considering how much changed in the 20th century alone. This leap out from poverty is mirrored in many other countries around the world.
The middle part of the memoir focuses on his time as a young doctor serving in Mozambique and the gargantuan expectations as one of the only doctors serving a deeply impoverished community of 100,000 people with few resources and staff. It was clear how much that changed him and caused him to reconsider the best way of care and communications and whether it was most important to care individuals at the hospital or determine ways to prevent the need for care in the community.
From there, he discusses his career as a professor and work in public health. Towards the end of his life, through his TedTalks, he became known for his vibrant statistics about how the world has changed in the 20th century. The illustrations really amplified his message and the statistics he was presenting.
Throughout the memoir, I had a great sense of Rosling’s personality. He could be chatty and warm, but also was deeply contemplative and sometimes shrewd. I think this kind of compartmentalization was necessary in life because of the difficult work he performed in his career. Rosling was keenly interested in improving conditions around the world, making discoveries, and having his data/research understood by many. The narration by Simon Slater was wonderful and kept me interested and seemed to fit with the tone of the book. I highly recommend this memoir!
Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this audiobook ARC.
gijs's review against another edition
4.0
Thoughtful and endearing autobiography by the well known physician, statistician and educator.
heychomy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0