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When Doctors Kill: Who, Why and How
It would come as no surprise that many readers may be shocked and intrigued by the title of our book. Some (especially our medical colleagues) may wonder why it is even worthwhile to raise the issue of killing by doctors. Killing is clearly an- thetical to the Art and Science of Medicine, which is geared toward easing pain and suffering and to saving lives rather than smothering them. Doctors should be a source of comfort rather than a cause for alarm. Nevertheless, although they often don’t want to admit it, doctors are people too. Physicians have the same genetic library of both endearing qualities and character defects as the rest of us but their vocation places them in a position to intimately interject themselves into the lives of other people. In most cases, fortunately, the positive traits are dominant and doctors do more good than harm. While physicists and mathematicians paved the road to the stars and deciphered the mysteries of the atom, they simultaneously unleashed destructive powers that may one day bring about the annihilation of our planet. Concurrently, doctors and allied scientists have delved into the deep secrets of the body and mind, mastering the anatomy and physiology of the human body, even mapping the very molecules that make us who we are. But make no mistake, a person is not simply an elegant b- logical machine to be marveled at then dissected.
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Joshua A. Perper
3 books1 followerDr. Joshua Perper is a forensic pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner in Broward County (Fort Lauderdale area) in the United States who has gained both national and international notice for his work on several high profile autopsies.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 1, 2011
I wanted to read this book due to the subject and the Authors. The subject is Who, Why, and How these famous medical physicians were allowed to kill citizens that trusted their lives to them. The 'when' question, was not among my primary questions, but by the ending of the book, it was. Why? Because it is very important to me to be reassured these atrocities are not continuing today or in the future. Sounds silly until you understand that in 1977 a law was passed saying "The use of human subjects will be allowed for the testing of chemical and biological agents by the U.S. Department of Defense..."
The Authors were important because as Medical Examiners, they have an inside view that us laypersons are not privy to.
The book begins, predictably, with the 'Jack the Ripper' murders. It moves onwards to classification of mass, serial, and experimentation killings. Some doctors go so far as to commit suicide.
The many characteristics of Nazi experiments which is made all to more horrific when you learn of the thousands of German doctors who signed up years prior Hitler's rise to power. The Germans were hardly the first group of serial/mass murders. Some harmful doctors lived in Asia, Europe, why even in our U.S.A. Why? For every reason under the sun. Rationalization being used to hold oneself blameless is not a new concept. There is even "contagious caregivers." Let us not forget Literature and Hollywood's contribution.
The Authors begin by looking at Physicians and their ethics. Did I mention the word Rationalizations?
Even Cleopatra ordered experiments that will shock and appall you.
This book is an important book and far more than I ever realized when I purchased it for research on a book. Yes, the book is disturbing to read. It is a true-crime book. Some will be terrified but this is information all citizens of the world should know. Especially in the U.S.A. because we thought this sort of thing ended after the Tuskegee Syphilis scandal...we are wrong.
Do not let your children read until you have read it yourself. Do let them read it one day. It is crucial, in my humble opinion.
The Authors were important because as Medical Examiners, they have an inside view that us laypersons are not privy to.
The book begins, predictably, with the 'Jack the Ripper' murders. It moves onwards to classification of mass, serial, and experimentation killings. Some doctors go so far as to commit suicide.
The many characteristics of Nazi experiments which is made all to more horrific when you learn of the thousands of German doctors who signed up years prior Hitler's rise to power. The Germans were hardly the first group of serial/mass murders. Some harmful doctors lived in Asia, Europe, why even in our U.S.A. Why? For every reason under the sun. Rationalization being used to hold oneself blameless is not a new concept. There is even "contagious caregivers." Let us not forget Literature and Hollywood's contribution.
The Authors begin by looking at Physicians and their ethics. Did I mention the word Rationalizations?
Even Cleopatra ordered experiments that will shock and appall you.
This book is an important book and far more than I ever realized when I purchased it for research on a book. Yes, the book is disturbing to read. It is a true-crime book. Some will be terrified but this is information all citizens of the world should know. Especially in the U.S.A. because we thought this sort of thing ended after the Tuskegee Syphilis scandal...we are wrong.
Do not let your children read until you have read it yourself. Do let them read it one day. It is crucial, in my humble opinion.
October 29, 2021
Joshua A. Perper and Steven J. Cina provide us with a chronological look at how a vast number of human test subjects' lives have been sacrificed in the name of science. It begins its investigation into acts of medically terminating pregnancy in early America that resulted in the lives of so many women. It discuss how female black slaves were used as research test fodder in establishing the modern practice of obstetrics and gynecology. It brings us into the twentieth century experiments carried out prison inmates and the resulting side-effects. It discusses the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment on black sharecroppers and their families. It brings us into the Jewish Holocaust of World War II and discuss the atrocities that took place at the hands of deranged scientists and discusses the mind control experiments of the CIA during the early 1950s. Do these types of experiments still exist today? Read When Doctors Kill: Who, Why and How to find out.
August 8, 2022
During the first few chapters, I thought ‘oh this is going to be boring, I already know about all these people”. Once I got past those chapters, I quickly found lots of stories that I had never read about before and I honestly learned a lot! This book took me as long as it did to finish because sometimes the material was just so heavy and dark, I needed a few days as a break between each chapter.
January 15, 2021
For anyone i know on fb or personally, this was a poorly edited, redundant waste of time. I was looking for greater insight into everyday medical evil and accident, and it's just rehashing of all the most famous cases.
October 4, 2010
When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How- by Joshua Perper and Stephen J. Cina
I was very excited to read this book. From reading about the authors, I thought it was great to have a book about some of the well known reasons and theories of why doctors kill. Having a professional background in psychology, and post-graduate studies in forensic psychology and law, I am always looking for new material to recommend to friends who teach college courses, or to keep in mind, should I decide to teach a course in the future. This book had the potential to be informative and controversial, both assets to any classroom discussion.
I was impressed with about the first 100 pages. It was reader friendly, informative, and added a bit of humor on an otherwise dark subject. Many important subjects were covered, such as: doctors trying to make advancements in medicine, serial killers, doctors with a “God” complex-who liked to have the power of life and death, government medical trials on human subjects, and Nazi “medical experiments” during WWII. Several specific and important cases were cited, and overall, I thought that part was well written.
And then came part four, the authors included another approximately forty (which seemed like another 100) pages on terrorism and politics. Other than the fact that the politicians and terrorist who committed atrocious acts while in positions of power. Other than the fact that they had obtained a medical degree at some point in their lives was irrelevant. They were killing people, and training people to kill as their role as a leader (of a country, a terrorist organization, etc...), not as a medical doctor. Therefore, it should not have been included in the book because they were not “Doctors who Kill” technically. They were, as the title of the section in the book was titled “Politicians” or “Terrorists” that kill.
Part five of the book started of nicely, and I began to regain hope for this book. It discussed the issues of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Again, a great topic for debate, and a couple of noteworthy cases were presented. Cutting out section four, and ending with euthanasia, the book just should have ended. Or, could have included, a whole area not even mentioned, the statistics on doctors who kill their families and spouses, which is not that uncommon.
Instead, there is the real ending that I felt completely went off topic again, and was written based more on opinion. I agree with them, but it didn't seem like the appropriate place to bring up those medical dilemmas because once again, it does not stay on the topic of “Why Doctors Kill.” The book goes on about the public's view of TV doctors, once again, information that probably could have been left out. They gave definitions of different types of non-medical treatment options and some of the fatal outcomes. Once again, information I felt irrelevant because these were treatment choices that the patient made. They then brought up the issue of over-prescribing medication, and the dilemma doctors have to treat pain, and the savvyness of patients to make up symptoms to get medications and addiction. Which lead into “Doctors to the Stars” who over prescribe medication to -which the authors even state that killing them would be ridiculous because they make large sums of cash and do not have to deal with insurance companies. Ending with the evil issue of malpractice, and make a convincing defense of why most doctors don't want to kill.
Umm...now I am confused. I read this book because I wanted to know “Why Doctors Kill,” not how they are over stressed, over worked, and live in constant fear of malpractice suits...unless you are setting up a defense for why they kill. But that was not given as any motive.
I was very excited to read this book. From reading about the authors, I thought it was great to have a book about some of the well known reasons and theories of why doctors kill. Having a professional background in psychology, and post-graduate studies in forensic psychology and law, I am always looking for new material to recommend to friends who teach college courses, or to keep in mind, should I decide to teach a course in the future. This book had the potential to be informative and controversial, both assets to any classroom discussion.
I was impressed with about the first 100 pages. It was reader friendly, informative, and added a bit of humor on an otherwise dark subject. Many important subjects were covered, such as: doctors trying to make advancements in medicine, serial killers, doctors with a “God” complex-who liked to have the power of life and death, government medical trials on human subjects, and Nazi “medical experiments” during WWII. Several specific and important cases were cited, and overall, I thought that part was well written.
And then came part four, the authors included another approximately forty (which seemed like another 100) pages on terrorism and politics. Other than the fact that the politicians and terrorist who committed atrocious acts while in positions of power. Other than the fact that they had obtained a medical degree at some point in their lives was irrelevant. They were killing people, and training people to kill as their role as a leader (of a country, a terrorist organization, etc...), not as a medical doctor. Therefore, it should not have been included in the book because they were not “Doctors who Kill” technically. They were, as the title of the section in the book was titled “Politicians” or “Terrorists” that kill.
Part five of the book started of nicely, and I began to regain hope for this book. It discussed the issues of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Again, a great topic for debate, and a couple of noteworthy cases were presented. Cutting out section four, and ending with euthanasia, the book just should have ended. Or, could have included, a whole area not even mentioned, the statistics on doctors who kill their families and spouses, which is not that uncommon.
Instead, there is the real ending that I felt completely went off topic again, and was written based more on opinion. I agree with them, but it didn't seem like the appropriate place to bring up those medical dilemmas because once again, it does not stay on the topic of “Why Doctors Kill.” The book goes on about the public's view of TV doctors, once again, information that probably could have been left out. They gave definitions of different types of non-medical treatment options and some of the fatal outcomes. Once again, information I felt irrelevant because these were treatment choices that the patient made. They then brought up the issue of over-prescribing medication, and the dilemma doctors have to treat pain, and the savvyness of patients to make up symptoms to get medications and addiction. Which lead into “Doctors to the Stars” who over prescribe medication to -which the authors even state that killing them would be ridiculous because they make large sums of cash and do not have to deal with insurance companies. Ending with the evil issue of malpractice, and make a convincing defense of why most doctors don't want to kill.
Umm...now I am confused. I read this book because I wanted to know “Why Doctors Kill,” not how they are over stressed, over worked, and live in constant fear of malpractice suits...unless you are setting up a defense for why they kill. But that was not given as any motive.
August 15, 2010
This is a slim volume that still packs a lot of punch. From the title I thought it would be a true crime book about murderous doctors. In fact, however, it covers doctor-caused deaths in a wide variety of contexts, including deliberate murder, malpractice, assisted suicide and euthanasia, medical experimentation, even doctors who became dictators (I had no idea there were so many of those).
In addition to providing a great deal of information, the authors are quite witty. When speaking of hypnosis in their chapter on alternative medicine for example, they say, "Hypnosis can be a valuable technique when used by certified health care professionals. It can be extremely embarrassing if it is employed by a nightclub entertainer who makes you squat down and quack like a duck."
I think this book would appeal to people with a range of interests. It covers historical events as well as some very recent ones, such as the Fort Hood shooting and Anna Nicole Smith's death.
In addition to providing a great deal of information, the authors are quite witty. When speaking of hypnosis in their chapter on alternative medicine for example, they say, "Hypnosis can be a valuable technique when used by certified health care professionals. It can be extremely embarrassing if it is employed by a nightclub entertainer who makes you squat down and quack like a duck."
I think this book would appeal to people with a range of interests. It covers historical events as well as some very recent ones, such as the Fort Hood shooting and Anna Nicole Smith's death.
April 17, 2011
This book was fascinating to me. It's so packed with information that it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but it's certainly educational. The only real issue I had with the book was the editing...or actually, the extreme lack thereof.
I found misspelled words, typos, nonsensical sentences where words had been moved around, and even one paragraph where there were repeat sentences. I don't know if the authors did their own editing, hired someone, or even bothered to proofread their work at all.
But, if you can bring yourself to overlook the typos and mistakes, this is a very in-depth look into all the ways that physicians can harm their patients.
I found misspelled words, typos, nonsensical sentences where words had been moved around, and even one paragraph where there were repeat sentences. I don't know if the authors did their own editing, hired someone, or even bothered to proofread their work at all.
But, if you can bring yourself to overlook the typos and mistakes, this is a very in-depth look into all the ways that physicians can harm their patients.
January 4, 2012
This book covered different doctor-caused deaths in depth, and that entire idea was super mysterious to me. This book discussed direct murder as well as malpractice, assisted suicide, and medical experimentation on patients. This book was very educational and would do well as supporting material in a college class. However, there were many distracting typos throughout the book. The authors were witty, and it was generally a fun read.
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July 5, 2010Looks really interesting!
July 6, 2010
Sweet!! I love books like this...excellent giveaway win!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews