''An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the Twenty-First Century'' is a 2008 memoir written by

James Orbinski James Jude Orbinski, (born 1960 in England) is a Canadian physician, humanitarian activist, author and leading scholar in global health. Orbinski was the 2016-17 Fulbright Visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine, and as of Se ...

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

, the former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières. The book expands upon points made by Orbinski in 1999 when he accepted the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières, specifically the importance of humanitarian organisations remaining independent from political forces.

Plot summary

''An Imperfect Offering'' starts with Orbinski's working class upbringing in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and his decision to study medicine. The story follows Orbinski as he works in disease outbreaks and conflict zones around the world including in Afghanistan, Chechnya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, Kosovo, Somalia, Sudan, and Zaire. Orbinski is in charge of the Médecins Sans Frontières healthcare in Rwanda when the

1994 genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

occurs; the book documents horrific violence and Orbinski is scathing of the United Nations failed peacekeeping efforts. Throughout the book, Orbinski negotiates with warlords and avoids becoming a victim of the violence around him. The narratives stresses the importance that humanitarian organisations retain independence from political forces and publicly condemn human rights abuses. The final chapters of the book document Orbinski's time after his presidential term has ended and focus on global access to medicines. An Imperfect Offering critiques the pharmaceutical companies and regulatory environment they operate within for their failure to ensure that people in low income countries get the medicine they need.

Critical reception

NPR described ''An Imperfect Offering'' as one of their "Best Political And Current Affairs Books Of 2008" and described it as "unflinchingly apolitical."

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

described the book as extraordinary and yet unpretentious with "carefully weighed prose".

Awards

''An Imperfect Offering'' won the 2008 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. The book won the 2008

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

References

External links

Except from An Imperfect Offering via NPR

Except from An Imperfect Offering via CTV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperfect Offering, An Canadian memoirs Books about human rights Literary autobiographies 2008 non-fiction books Political autobiographies Current affairs books Books about Rwanda Genocide education Médecins Sans Frontières

Plot summary

Critical reception

Awards

See also

References

External links