Song of Haiti [Hardcover]

Barry Paris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2000

An inspiring account by an acclaimed biographer of the lives of Larimer and Gwendolyn Mellon, who used their initiative and their wealth to build the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti, a place where life expectancy was once the lowest in the hemisphere.. Larimer Mellon was the youngest son of Paul Mellon, renowned Pittsburgh financier, and seemed destined for a life of high finance and high society. Instead, he went to med-school and, upon graduating, moved with his wife Gwen to Haiti, the poorest country in the hemisphere. In one of the most isolated and impoverished areas of the country they built a hospital, and for the rest of his life Larry Mellon served as a physician there. To this day, Gwen Mellon remains at the hospital and in Haiti. Song of Haiti is a beautifully written look at the passion that drove this couple, and that inspired them to leave behind a world of almost unfathomable wealth and luxury and devote their lives to the poorest of the poor in a country far from home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

No one ever expected the youngest son of financier William Mellon to establish and manage a hospital in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. But that is exactly what William Larimer (Larry) Mellon Jr. did during the last 35 years of his life (he attended medical school in his 40s). In this double biography, ParisAwho himself makes a surprising turn from Hollywood biography (Audrey Hepburn, Garbo, etc.)A beautifully, if somewhat uncritically tells the story of Larry, his second wife, Gwen, and their hospital in Haiti. Taking a page from the Mellons' lifelong passion for music, Paris organizes the entire book, from its "Overture" to its "Finale," around a musical theme. Drawing on extensive interviews with GwenAwho, now in her 80s, has been running the hospital since her husband's death in 1989Aas well as on Larry's private journals and his correspondence with Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Paris crafts a moving and largely sympathetic portrait. He also traces the history of the vast array of community development projects the Mellons initiated, arguing that the couple dedicated their uncommon lives and fortune to Schweitzer's motto "Help life where you find it." Along the way he provides plenty of relevant photos and helpful background: a history of Haiti, the story of the Mellon dynasty and an assessment of voodooAhe calls it "a largely positive force with no particular agenda and without the proselytizing (or televangelical abuses) of Christianity." Inspirational and dramatic, this book fills in a long-forgotten gap in the history of both American philanthropy and compassionate humanity. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As in his other acclaimed biographies (Garbo, Audrey Hepburn), Paris captures the passion of lives well lived. In what is essentially a love story about Larimer and Gwen Mellon, he tells of the couple's transition from the world of high finance (Larimer was the youngest son of banker William Mellon) to service as healthcare providers in one of the "neediest spots" in the world. Inspired by the medical missionary work of Albert Schweitzer in Africa, the Mellons made a mid-life decision to devote their energies to building a hospital and serving the poor in Haiti's Artibonite Valley. Larry, who graduated from medical school in his mid-forties and served in Haiti until his death, is presented as a reflective renegade; Gwen, now in her eighties and still working in Haiti, is seen as a feisty Mother Teresa. After three years of researching private journals and unpublished correspondence and conducting extensive interviews, Paris has written a definitive exploration of the Mellons' impact not only on the episodic healthcare of Haiti but on tropical medicine research and public sanitation reforms. This is not just a biography but a gem of medical anthropological literature. Recommended for all collections in public and academic libraries alike.DRebecca Cress-Ingebo, Fordham Health Sciences Lib., Wright State Univ., Dayton
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (May 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620134
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620133
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book about inspiring people, June 18, 2000

By 

A. S. Morse "noah's mom" (Snohomish, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Song of Haiti (Hardcover)

Song of Haiti is an absolutely awesome book! As a nurse who has done mission work in Haiti, I found this book authentic, a true inspiration, as well as a compelling, indepth view of the lives of many dedicated and compassionate people. Barry Paris' work describes the country and the people in beautiful and fullfilling language. Oftentimes, I felt as if I were in Haiti again experiencing the amazing, hard-working and loving people of the country. I've never before read a biography with such griping prose. I looked forward to my time to read because I became more and more interested in the life of every person described - be it Dr. Mellon and Gwen or Albert Schweitzer, or the nurses and doctors and friends with whom they shared their lives. I believe this is the way that biographical work should be written. Song of Haiti is thorough in that it covers the entirety of Dr. Mellon's life, touching on his downfalls as well as his high acheivements. I found that the realism with which the story is told is excellent and believable. The many everyday encounters and adventures are interesting and mesmerizing - it makes a person want to travel and experience the third world for all of the beauty and intensity it offers. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your interest in medicine, mission work, or biography. It is amazing.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great humanitarian and noble doctor, November 20, 2001

By 

RANDALL BRIEGER (ELMHURST, NEW YORK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of Haiti (Hardcover)

The life of William Larimer Mellon is an example of the life Americans should dream for themselves and those they love dearly. For one who majored in biology and gave it up for 18 years in auditing the paralells to Mellon's change of career and motivations struck me deeply. On witnessing the WTC disaster personally (a few hundred yards away) man should strive for something in life and go for it. Barry Paris well written account of a life inspired by Dr. Schweitzer is highly recommended to all readers committed to God and American morals and values. If readers have a noble vision the price of this book is totally insiginificant to the highest rewards you will gather from reading it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Yet True to Life, April 3, 2005

By 

Blusuede (NYC, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song of Haiti (Hardcover)

Truly an engaging read that reminds us that we can choose to turn our lives around at any time. Larimer Mellon did just that at age 37, first going to medical school, then founding a hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti, that is running to this very day. The author does well to follow their project and show how their lives were intertwined by others similarly interested in Albert Schweitzer's ethos. This idea of "Reverence for Life" has led to the existence, in the middle of poorest rural Haiti, of a thriving band of expatriates, native Haitians, short-term volunteers, and visitors of various sorts dedicated to humanistic ideals. Hospital Albert Schweitzer lives on, and you can be a part of it if you choose.