Tuskegee's Truths: Rethinking the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Studies in Social Medicine

by Susan M. Reverby (Editor)

Between 1932 and 1972, approximately six hundred African American men in Alabama served as unwitting guinea pigs in what is now considered one of the worst examples of arrogance, racism, and duplicity in American medical research--the Tuskegee syphilis study. Told they were being treated for "bad blood," the nearly four hundred men with late-stage syphilis and two hundred disease-free men who served as controls were kept away from appropriate treatment and plied instead with placebos, nursing visits, and the promise of decent burials. Despite the publication of more than a dozen reports in respected medical and public health journals, the study continued for forty years, until extensive media coverage finally brought the experiment to wider public knowledge and forced its end.

This edited volume gathers articles, contemporary newspaper accounts, selections from reports and letters, reconsiderations of the study by many of its principal actors, and works of fiction, drama, and poetry to tell the Tuskegee story as never before. Together, these pieces illuminate the ethical issues at play from a remarkable breadth of perspectives and offer an unparalleled look at how the study has been understood over time.

Genres: American History, History, Nonfiction

664 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2000

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a thorough documentation of the incident in one place. I had to adjust to the repetitive retelling of the research?/study. However, this may be the most poignant point in the book. I had to read about what the study was supposed to be multiple times as I attempted to assimilate the opinions, outcomes, and continuing questions of this study.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference to learn about implicit bias and its impact on research, and how ethical considerations are imperative to reearch and health outcomes. The book is dull but useful to learn.

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was our medicine book club which I just tried picking up again after several years. Somewhat interesting at the beginning, but it didn't keep my attention. Much of it seemed repetitive, and I didn't end up finishing the book.

[Jen Bellot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for a historical ethics nut, a bit dry at times

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great reference for anyone interested in studying this disturbing chapter in US history.