Tammy Bortner, BSN, RN
Program Manager, Resuscitation Sciences Training Center
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption By Laura Hillenbrand
In addition to enjoying grandchildren and gardening I love to read! My mother always found time to take me to the nearby Children’s Library where I would explore the world beyond our small hometown. Today I frequently utilize the services of our extensive Penn State Library system in my graduate studies, where I am very grateful for the helpfulness of our library staff.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, is the book that I have chosen. While most of my books today are enjoyed on Audible while commuting, this one can also be found on my bookshelf. This true-life story of a delinquent turned Olympic athlete, Louis Zamperini, is simply unforgettable. Faced with the most demanding situations imaginable during World War II, he continually demonstrates courage and resilience as he is taken prisoner of war following a harrowing experience at sea. Rich in history and adversity, this mesmerizing book also serves to remind me of the never-ending contributions of our armed forces in pursuit of the freedoms we enjoy every day.
Christine Bruce, MHSA, PA-C, DFAAPA
Associate Professor Of Medicine
Program Director Physician Assistant Program
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption By Laura Hillenbrand
This book provides the chronicle of the journey in the life of Louis Zamperini. This man seemed to be destined to be the first runner to break the four minute mile, but war and its circumstances sent his life in a tailspin and into a totally different direction.
Louis survived his plane being shot down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during World War II only to find that his ordeal was only beginning. His gut-wrenching true story illustrates that life rarely proceeds as planned and sometimes surviving unexpected circumstances is a victory in itself.
Resilience: Demonstrating the ability to both sustain oneself and thrive in the most dire of circumstances, Mr. Zamperini’s tenacity allowed him to survive a prison of war camp when many others around him perished.
Redemption. Recovery. Revitalization. Restoration. Mr. Zamperini’s challenges continued after returning home from war, but the lessons learned as part of his captivity provided him with the foundation to ultimately thrive when faced with additional adversity. In our dual role as both teachers and health care providers at Hershey Medical Center, we are challenged to develop and nurture these values and attributes to both our patients and students. Mr. Zamperini’s adversarial situations serve as a reminder to us of the capacity, resolve and drive of the human spirit. A professional role model in my life, Jim Valvano, head basketball coach of the NCCAA National Champion North Carolina Wolfpack who resiliently fought cancer until the very end of his life remarked, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” These are the lessons that I would like our future patients and students to adopt so that they are able and willing to face life’s challenges with courage, dignity, and fortitude.
Richard Courtney, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor
Department Of Microbiology And Immunology
Principles of Virology: Molecular Biology, Pathogenesis, and Control of Animal Viruses By S. J. Flint, L. W. Enquist, V. R. Racaniello, and A. M. Skalka
I chose this book because it conveys the dynamic nature of the field of virology in a very readable and well-illustrated format. The authors begin with an interesting overview on the history of virology and then focus on the structure and replication of viruses, the pathogenesis of viral infections and finally, efforts to prevent and control viral diseases. This book served as an invaluable resource as I developed my virology lectures for both medical and graduate students. Its contents enhanced my ability to provide students with information on the basics concepts of virology. My goal was to pass on my excitement for the field of virology as well as enable students to acquire a life-long appreciation for the dynamic role viruses play in human health.
Peter Dillon, M.D.
John A. And Marian T. Waldhausen Professor Of Surgery
Chair Of The Department Of Surgery
Interim Vice Dean For Clinical Affairs
Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day By Peter Zuckerman
The book I have chosen is a bit different than most books. You won’t find it on best seller lists or in any popular bookstore. It is a historical description of a tremendous mountaineering disaster. But more importantly, it explores the importance of cultural respect for nature and the deadly consequences of human vanity and hubris when that respect is ignored.
Christopher Lynch, Ph.D.
Professor And Vice Chair Of Cellular And Molecular Physiology
Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics 10th Edition By Hardman JG, Limbird LE, Gilman AG, editors
The book I chose is not a novel or biography, which I could have chosen, but rather Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. This book was instrumental lifeline in my training as a pharmacologist. Pharmacology seeks both to understand how drugs work and to use drugs as tools (pharmacological approaches) to investigate physiological or pathophysiological mechanisms or to understand the mechanism of other drugs. In my early career, understanding the signaling pathways of drugs and hormones consumed my time and interest. This comprehensive book (before the age of the internet) was my entrée and background for the emerging field of cell signaling. One of the things about the book I enjoyed the most, as a Ph.D. student, was the frequent interruption of the text with smaller text sections that I always felt were meant specifically for researchers like me, who were interested in the fine nuanced details of a subject and the research that supported that. Alternatively, these smaller type-faced sections might include the interesting historic aspects of the field that gave me a perspective in the field. Those were the parts, that I felt were meant for me and not for the generalist reader. As a post-doc, I was lucky enough to have as occasional mentors the more recent editors of the book at Vanderbilt, Drs. Joel Hardman and Lee Limbird.
As a course director of the GI block for medical school, I successfully recruited a librarian as faculty team. I have subsequently, described the benefits of doing so to other medical school course directors and a number of them now utilize library faculty in their courses. More recently, as a course director in the biomedical sciences graduate curriculum, I made a similar suggestion and a librarian has now been recruited to assist us as an integral team member of that curriculum as well.
Kathleen Simon
Director, Graduate Student Affairs
A Taste of Blackberries By Doris Buchanan Smith
I selected this book because it touched me. I picked this book up to pass the time while I waited for my then 7-year-old to finish her spelling homework…..and I couldn’t put it down. This children’s book touched a darker, harsher side of life -death in such a beautiful and unthreatening manner. I felt this book was written for me…about me. I found comfort and understanding in this book. I found emotions that I had not been able to express…expressed in this children’s book. How simple?
How freeing for an adult to finally “get it” through a children’s book.