Public Health

These are books that deal specifically with public health issues.

• Gabor Mate, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
• Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map

Economics/Aid

There are a great many books about the economics of international aid and whether it does any good. Among these, there exists a range of conclusions, all the way from "aid is the only way forward" to "aid is no good". In this order, the books I recommend are:

• Jeffrey Sachs, The End to Poverty
• Peter Singer, The Life You Can Save
• Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
• William Easterly, The White Man's Burden
• Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid

Globalization

Globalization is an important trend affecting both public health as well as the factors that themselves affect public health. My favorite books here are:

• Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat and Hot, Flat, and Crowded
• Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater

Conflict and Peace

These are often hard to read, but all are excellent.

• Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of A Boy Soldier
• Dang Thuy Tram, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace
• Thich Nhat Hanh, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change