The subject of Tracy Kidder's book "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World," Farmer is a renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, and co-founder of Partners in Health, a nonprofit organization bringing healthcare to impoverished parts of the world. Farmer's visit to the University of Washington was part of the inaugural year of the UW Common Book, a project aiming to engage all entering University of Washington students in a common intellectual experience of reading the same book. In 2006, the selection was "Mountains Beyond Mountains."