More fascinating and harrowing accounts of the volunteer professionals who risk their lives to help those in desperate need.

Praise for the second edition:

"Direct and evocative, this well-written book pushes readers to the edge of a world of grueling realities not known by most Americans."
-- Choice

Doctors Without Borders (aka Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) was founded in 1971 by rebellious French doctors. It is arguably the most respected humanitarian organization in the world, delivering emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural disasters as well as to many others who lack reliable health care.

Dan Bortolotti follows the volunteers at the forefront of this organization and its work, who daily risk their lives to perform surgery, establish or rehabilitate hospitals and clinics, run nutrition and sanitation programs, and train local medical personnel. These volunteer professionals:

• Perform emergency surgery in war-torn regions of Africa, Asia and elsewhere
• Treat the homeless in the streets of Europe
• Honor cultural customs and understand societal differences that affect health care
• Witness and report the genocidal atrocities so often missed by mainstream media

This new and revised third edition includes updates and new inside stories from recent relief operations, and it covers changes within the organization, such as its new emphasis on nutrition. There are also many new and revealing color photographs and insights gained from the author's 2009 trip to Haiti, where he found three different arms of MSF operating in dire conditions.

Hope in Hell is a widely acclaimed portrait of a renowned Nobel-winning humanitarian organization, revealing how Doctors Without Borders provides immediate and outstanding medical care.

Dan Bortolotti is the author of five previous books, including Hope in Hell, a portrait of Doctors Without Borders and the Nobel-winning humanitarian aid group.&nbsp He has twice been nominated for the Science in Society Book Award, given by the Canadian Science Writers’ Association.&nbsp His journalism has appeared in more than two dozen publications in North America, including Maclean’s, Saturday Night, and the National Post newspaper.&nbsp Bortolotti lives with his family in Aurora, Ontario, just north of Toronto.

Dan Bortolotti's profile page

(about the first edition) Looks at the history, politics and motivations of MSF and its volunteers... analyzes the difficulties that MSF faces.

Library Journal

Allows the reader a very honest look at MSF.

Medical Post

(about the first edition) Describes but never romanticizes... Direct and evocative, this well-written book pushers readers to the edge of a world of grueling realities not know by most Americans. Recommended.

Choice

Bortolotti, a journalist and author, visited doctors, nurses, and nonmedical staff in Doctors Without Borders programs in Angola, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Haiti, and other countries, and reveals their experiences in the program. He provides historical information on the organization and its origins in France and describes stories of its volunteers, what they do, and the patients they treat, within the context of the political and cultural climate of specific countries. This edition adds a postscript to the chapter on Haiti.

Book News

(about the first edition) All in all, I found Hope in Hell to be a nicely balanced book about this type of work/volunteerism that I've been curious about for years.

Emergency Medical Services Magazine

(about the first edition) Emphasizes that much of the organization's work takes place not in war zones but in remote, impoverished locales.

Chronicle of Philanthropy

(about the first edition) Some physicians still do manifest the noblest virtues of medicine... a worthwhile read for prospective international aid volunteers.

Globe and Mail

(about the first edition) Comprehensive picture of the essence of volunteerism.

The Lancet

It is in the considerable space that Bortolotti gives to the emotions of the group's staff members that the book really shines... authentic and inclusive... informative and touching.

New England Journal of Medicine

(about the first edition) Traces the history of the world's largest independent medical humanitarian organization... grimly poignant.

Publishers Weekly

(about the first edition) Inspired... Much of what Bortolotti reports is noticeably absent from the daily headlines, so this eye opening account is all the more chilling, and MSF's efforts achingly more compelling.

Booklist