What Jim had, above all, was enthusiasm, He'd weigh facts against possibilities as if the two were equivalent. A lot of students had joined PIH for a decade by now, and done a lot of its most menial chores along the way. What Jim had, above all, was enthusiasm. He'd weigh possibilities as if the two were equivalent. A lot of students had joined PIH after hearing him talk. Change the world? Of course they could. He really believed this, and he really believed that "a small group of committed individuals" could do it. He liked to say of PIH, "People think we're unrealistic. They don't know we're crazy."

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How does one person with great talents come to exert a force on the world? I think in Farmer's case the answer lies somewhere in the apparent craziness, the sheer impracticality, of half of everything he does, including the hike to Casse.

Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains