You can look at this book and say that focusing on individuals and their life stories is a cheap way to get people to pay up. I say: So what? If this is what it takes for people in the 1st world to get involved in these issues, then bring it on. Of course one is moved by the personal accounts and once a cause is attached to a name and a story, it has a much bigger impact in people's minds and I think this is what the authors wanted to achieve and what I feel they achieved. To me, this book sounded very well researched and not only focused on the positive, but also mentioned the pitfalls of international help. I also like that they were talking about cost efficiency of the different initiatives.