Here are 5 Books for your 2024 Public Health Booklist.
This public health booklist can help you dig deeper into understanding and making your impact in the field.
These books will help better shape your knowledge to be an effective practitioner.
Join our public health community waitlists to stay accountable to your reading goals in 2024.
1. Carte Blanche, by Harriet A. Washington
About: This book explores the ‘erosion of medical consent.’ It is the alarming story of how Americans are losing the right to say ‘no’ to medical research. It highlights the medical exploitation that happens to US troops, patients, marginalized population, inmates, and the disabled.
Why Read: If you want a thought provoking read on what it means to give medical consent and how that right is being breached in our society today. This thought provoking and enlightening book helps to better understand the importance of consent in the modern world.
2. Biased, by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
About: This book is about ‘Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do.’ It uncovers racial bias that occur at all levels of our society – neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, etc – while also providing tools to address the bias she uncovers.
Why Read: If you want to learn how to better speak about bias, racial disparities & inequities and how it plays into our daily lives, this is the book for you. It helps us to better understand how we can address racial biases and other biases in our work as public health professionals.
3. The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee
About: This book is about ‘what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together.’ It explores the author’s journey across the USA to discover what we lose when we take on a zero-sum lens in viewing progress for specific racial groups.
Why Read: If you want to better understand the USA’s racial divide and how we can overcome it. It highlights what we all lose as citizens when there are directed attacks at Black people in the USA. It’ll teach you why we should view progress for the racial groups as progress for all people.
4. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
About: This book explores why in the richest country in the world there is still so much poverty. It also highlights tangible solutions that can be used to close these poverty gaps in the US. It gives us a new framework for thinking about solutions to this “morally urgent” problem.
Why Read: If you want to learn how systems, policies, and structures have created so much poverty in the USA. It’ll help you understand the importance of being a poverty abolitionists and how we all have a piece to play in addressing the stark poverty in America.
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
About: This book is about the decade-plus long story to uncover Henrietta Lacks and investigating her immortal HeLa cell line. It explores the story of Henrietta Lacks, her family, and how her cells were stolen and then used without her family knowledge to make remarkable scientific discoveries.
Why Read: If you want to learn more about the fascinating and disheartening story of how the immortal HeLa cells were birth. You’ll gain insight into how the medical field has treated marginalized communities and why it’s important that communities have the power to advocate for themselves.
Buy The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Summary
Here are 5 Books for your 2024 Public Health Booklist:
- Carte Blanche, by Harriet A. Washington
- Biased, by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
- The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee
- Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
Be sure to add these 5 books to your public health book list for 2024!
