June Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club

Date: June 12, 2016

Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan 48072

Cost: Everyone pays for themselves

Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant

Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:

Discussing The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Review of Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus

Review by Heather Gruenewald

I first heard about Muhammad Yunus in a leadership course, in a video where he discussed his motivation for creating the micro-lending concept in his home country of Pakistan. The book is fascinating to read, as he discusses how he initially came up with the concept, and how it evolved into a worldwide organization that helps millions of people across dozens of countries. He opened my eyes as to how to effectively combat poverty, and to do so in a way that preserves the dignity of poor and helps them learn how to become financially independent. He also discusses throughout the book his focus on women, and why it is important to reach out to them. My only complaint with the book was that towards the end, he starts generating all kinds of side businesses from the basic micro-lending business, and it felt very "mega corporate" to me and that he was getting away from his original passion and core successful business.

Review of Polio: An American Story by David Oshinksy

Review by Heather Gruenewald

I was motivated to select this book for our book club after hearing an interview with the author. Our mom contracted polio in October 1956 (her treatment was fully funded by March of Dimes), and this was the first time I have ever read anything in detail about the history of polio. It was fascinating to read about how it went from a sickness that no one understood anything about to developing a robust vaccine so that most of the world is now immune from it (at least the countries where the vaccine is widely available). It was disappointing to see the stereotypical fighting between egotistical academics of who would claim to make the most progress in polio research, and that they were frequently more concerned with self-promotion and publicity than helping out the general public who were affected by it. I also found it interesting to learn about the evolution of modern fundraising through the experience of the March of Dimes, and how charities take advantage of marketing and can lose sight of the big picture as much as any other organization.