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.
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