Rating: 
Summary: Gripping Page-Turner
Review: "Blind Eye" is a very disturbing book. There were several times throughout the book that my stomach was literally in knots due to the overwhelming revulsion and shock that a man like Swango might become a free man this month and return as a member of our society. This is a man who upon his release from prison would most likely have no problem poisoning other individuals that he just doesn't like. Or even poison individuals he doesn't know, just because he can.I've read all 62 reviews and what I find most interesting is that one of Stewart's themes in the book is how doctors protect their fellow doctors. Of these 62 reviews many of the one-star ratings are posted by individuals who work in the medical field, or are doctors themselves. The five-star reviews are mostly written by people that have no professional relationship to medicine. OBVIOUSLY Swango's situation is unique, and OBVIOUSLY not all hospitals cover-up their internal indiscretions. But what some reviewers seem to be missing is that the point of this book is not to slander the medical industry. "Blind Eye" is the story of a serial killer who happens to be a doctor. While it's unfortunate that several hospitals acted irresponsibly, hopefully this book will open the eyes of administrators who might implement stronger screening guideline and more honest investigations of internal affairs. While I did not "enjoy" reading this book, I found it an incredible piece of investigative journalism. Stewart is an excellent writer and this is a very important book.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for anybody who likes true crimes
Review: "Blind Eye" is a very interesting and disturbing book. There were several times throughout the book that made me think that if this guy was a doctor, and nobody suspected him, then what says that no other doctors are doing what he did. A book like "Blind Eye" makes you have second thoughts about doctors, and you shouldn't have to feel that way. A hospital is a place to save lives; not take them, and Michael Swango has probably made a lot of people feel a little queasy about that statement. Also I don't feel comfortable about Swango being released to out society. This is a man who upon his release from prison would most likely have no problem poisoning other individuals that he just doesn't like. Or even poison individuals he doesn't know, just because he can. Overall though, Stewart did an excellent job writing this book, and I would recommend this book to anybody that likes to read mystery, suspense, small thrillers, non-fiction, or true crimes. It keeps you on your toes wondering what is going to happen around the corner, and it always leaves you in a deep cliffhanger. It won't take long to read at all if you get into it, and don't have any distractions to keep you from reading.
Rating: 
Summary: My daughter married a doctor. Really? I'm so sorry!
Review: A disturbing and well researched story that demonstrates why doctor's can't be trusted to police themselves. The story is about a psychopath who, at times, goes by the name Michael Swango ( he uses several alaises ). They wrote a book about him because he is a medical doctor who murdered sixy some-odd patients by poisoning them to death and because his crimes were intentionally covered up by a host of medical and political hoi polloi. The cover-up could be considered by some to be more heinous and far more reaching than the brutal extinction of Swango's helpless victims. The author gives his readers a description of Swango's childhood supposedly to help us understand what makes Swango 'tick'. His childhood wasn't perfect. You know what? Neither was mine. The man is clearly one of the most troubled psychopaths in American history, someone who should, and I believe eventually will, spend the rest of his life in jail. The good news, he's currently in jail on a fraud charge. The bad news? He's scheduled to be released in January 2000 and if history repeats itself ( and I bet it will ) he will again be free to poison people. I'm convinced we'll hear of him again somewhere soon. Swango in and of himself is dangerous because he is a conniving, immoral cold-hearted liar. What makes him more dangerous is that he is a member of a so-called Elite group in the US, the American Medical Association, an organization that appears to be above the law. Their protection of him can only be described as shameful - not to mention criminal. What needs to be understood is why such an august body would subject itself to such a potentially damaging scrutiny while trying to protect one bad apple. One answer that might be offered is that the AMA does not want to be the subject of a law suit. But why would they fear litagation if it could be proved that the errant AMA member actually did commit what he is accused of? Because once the AMA opens the door to outside scrutiny, it will only invite further intrusions into their inner sanctum. It will eventually weaken their heirarchy. They fear that they will loose the protection from outside intrusion that they enjoy, a protection that everyday citizens do not enjoy. We need to rally around the nurses and medical personnel on the front line who can bring allegations such as these to the forefront without fear of retribution from the doctors on staff. I hope Mr. Stewarts book raises our awareness of these situations. At the risk of sounding hysterical, I don't think it's an absurd idea to suggest that Swango's picture and description of his past should be posted on as many webpages as possible. Remember, this guy can't help himself. When he's found out, he moves to another city or State. He even went to Africa to avoid investigations and poisoned scores of helpless poor pateints there! When he was found out there, he reappeared on Long Island in New York and poisoned otherwise healthy patients to death! It can happen to you and me. I think the actions of the medical profession in this situaion are unconscionable, and I implore you to educate yourself and your families about the particulars before it's too late.
Rating:
Summary: Please, God, don't let me get sick in Ohio...
Review: Hunt, Whitcomb, Goodman, Zigornis, Berkin, Carrey, Ohio State Hospital...remember these names, this place, and pray you never have to rely on them if you are ill or harmed under their care. I hold these medical men and pillars of the community (none of them deserve the titles) to be directly responsible for the proliferation of death and suffering of the victims of Michael Swango, the physician-serial killer. It's all about the Old Boys' Club. The politics. The cover-ups. The money. The sexism. The Big Egos of Those In Charge. So what do these guys talk about on the golf course these days? Do they discuss how their "f...-up" cost so many people their lives and their health? I have a feeling they don't care at all. We consider Swango a psychopath. However, what are these doctors and other medical authorities who enabled him? I call them sociopaths...coldly, emotionlessly looking out for their own skins at the expense of the people who trusted them. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. May they ---- oh, never mind.
Just don't go there.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately, much is true in this book
Review: I know many of the individuals mentioned in the book and I'm sorry to say that while there are some exaggerations, I believe the OSU stuff is pretty accurate
Rating:
Summary: Real life more frightening than fiction
Review: I read this investigative 314 page book in one sitting. If there's a lesson in it, it's that authority figures, such as doctors, suffer pride, envy, lust, just like the rest of us but unlike the rest of us, too often fail to acknowledge their fallibility. It highlights the patriarchal and sexist nature of the American medical profession which, like other parts of society, is not hermetically sealed off from that society. Example: the direct eye evidence of an elderly female patient counts for nothing; the evidence of nurses counts for little; the suppositions and the presumptions of doctors counts a great deal - and so a serial killer doctor continues to practice. Equally frightening is how a number of eminent and respected so called "scientists" of some very prestigious medical establishments chose Dr Michael Swango because they liked the look of him, because he seemed nice. To what extent did Dr Swango achieve his macabre goals because he was the picture of an energetic, white, clean cut, blue-eyed, blonde haired American ex-marine? (The author notes that staff at one mid-western hospital were relieved to find Dr Swango was "english speaking" so many "foreign doctors" had they through their portals). Although I felt a little uneasy in the beginning of this book at what seemed to be the gossip like approach of the author, about who did or didn't like Michael Swango at school, whose favourite he was at home etc, the beginning serves to draw you in to his life through the eyes of friends acquaintances and relatives so that the real horror of his actions slowly dawns on the reader. In a state approaching disbelief you are witness to a horrible journey. Thanks to the American press and to patients such as Mrs Delbert Cooper Sr and to the author and to the nurses involved the mistakes made can be revealed, and discussed. A tad more humility by some doctors might have helped to prevent a lot of what happened in this story.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the time to listen to, but read the book, too
Review: I was given this book to read at a hospital sponsored meeting on physician credentialing issues. The book emphasizes the need for the strict credentialing processes of the medical profession. It also emphasizes the difficulty posed to this process by the seriously personality disorder individual. The author paints with too broad a brush in his sweeping indictment of the entire medical profession in allowing the credentialing of someone like Michael Swango and in doing so misplaces the blame for his heinous acts. Michael Swango is a serial killer who poisoned people remorselessly both in and out of hospitals and would have done so with or without a medical license. The medical profession is probably better than most at identifying the personality disordered individual and protecting the public from those that pose a threat. The really disturbing thought highlighted by this book is the struggle we have with identifying the charming, intelligent psychopathic personality and getting them help prior to the commission of serious criminal acts.
Rating:
Summary: Gives Certain Groups Well Deserved Thrashing
Review: If this were a novel I would probably not have finished it, if I had I would have dismissed it with one star and as much sarcasm about an incompetent author I could think of. The horror is that this book documents a serial killer who killed his victims in hospitals around The United States and overseas. He killed these people, many who were his own patients, and others because they were convenient. He killed because it allowed him to act out his fantasies and because he enjoyed committing murder. And at least part of his thrill was that he knew that the system of which he was a part would go out of its way to rationalize or knowingly deny the truth. And it was this mentality that lead him from state to state killing as he went. This book is so disturbing because of the scope and the number of parties who allowed this killer to continue to kill. If these crimes had been committed in one hospital a finger could be pointed and those responsible punished. But he worked his way through Illinois, Ohio State University Hospitals, South Dakota, New York, Zimbabwe, and finally back to the US when he was arrested. He was not arrested for murder, and at the time he was caught he was passing through to his next job in Saudi Arabia. The string of events and the years they occupy will leave you shaking your head. This man poisoned 6 coworkers and was sent to prison, this little event did not even slow him down when pursuing his next hospital post. You will even read of at least one member of the medical community that said even with this conviction they would still hire this man. And the truth is many more than one employer did. And many of those who could have stopped this person very early on remain in their professions today, and many of them hold positions of much greater authority. How can this happen? The observations of nurses need to be dismissed along with victims who survived this serial killer together with roommates that witnessed his actions. Those in the hospital administration need to refuse to cooperate with investigators, and they must put their potential liability ahead of the bodies this man left in his wake. The process is simple; discredit anyone who may have something damaging to say, whine about how hard it is to prove a murder when effected by a doctor, and then write endorsements and recommendations of the killer that will not raise an eyebrow with the next employer. The goal is to push the guy out of your hospital without the killer or his victims suing, and then let the next hospital deal with him. This guy is now serving three consecutive life sentences. This number is at least several dozen short of the number he killed. That he was finally charged and convicted had precious little to do with the hospitals he worked at. From what I was able to find he was convicted of murder at a Veteran's Administration Hospital, which would find it much harder to ignore the Federal Government. At a minimum there are a dozen or so cells that should be occupied by other doctors and a string of hospital administrators. To that group can be added some members of the boards of doctors who are supposed to discipline their own, and not a few members of congress that ensure that tracking and documenting the histories of those we entrust are lives to remain vague and poorly documented.
Rating:
Summary: If you enjoy overturning rocks to see what's underneath ...
Review: In this lucid and riveting piece of non-fiction, author James Stewart turns over a rock, and out crawls Michael Swango - clean-cut, all-American physician and ostensible serial murderer. We follow Swango from his upbringing in a terminally dysfunctional family, through medical school at Southern Illinois University, on to (failed) specialty residencies at Ohio State University, the University of South Dakota, and the State University of New York, and finally to a bizarre stint as a practicing physician at two hospitals in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Beginning at OSU, he leaves behind a trail of dead patients and some very sick acquaintances, friends and lovers. No Dr. Kildare this, his favorite pharmaceuticals are the likes of arsenic, ricin, and cyanide. Despite the evidence, he has been convicted only twice - once for poisoning coworkers, none of whom died, and once for falsifying information on a residency application. I have not been, nor will I ever be, a fan of the "true crime reporting" genre of books. Any minimally aware individual knows there are a lot of sociopathic, psychotic and otherwise dangerous people on the loose. It's the good luck of most of us not to run into any in the course of a lifetime. It doesn't add to the pleasures of my life to read about them, and will usually only do so if their impact on real-life history has been disproportionately great. Therefore, I confess to an occasional fascination with the likes of Hitler and Stalin. (And the villains in the fictional works I enjoy generally get a satisfying comeuppance.) Personally, I found "Blind Eye", though admirably written, to be frustrating and infuriating. Infuriating because it shows how Swango breached the barriers supposedly set up to protect society at large, with the help, in this case, of a particularly spineless, arrogant and self-serving group of physician-administrator weasels at the OSU Medical Center. Frustrating because Swango has yet to brought to justice for murder, mostly because of the difficulties in garnering evidence that will support indictments for crimes committed many years ago, or in a foreign country, by methods that leave nebulous traces at best. Currently serving a federal prison term for fraud, he is due for release no later than July 2000. The author feels he will certainly try to practice "medicine" again - somewhere. It should give the reader pause to consider where that might be. (Been looking for a new family doctor lately? Hmmm?) In a reasonable society, a solid citizen would not be condemned for shooting a mad dog on sight. Michael Swango is one twisted, sick puppy. Unfortunately, we don't live in a society that is always reasonable.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy to the last page...
Review: James Stewart is one of the top two or three writers whose work I have had the pleasure to read. He is meticulous in his reporting and his research is unassailable. The more I read, the more terrified I became that someone could actually "skate" through the system for so many years leaving a wake of corpses in his path. Stewart is a remarkable storyteller who can't be missed. The evil Dr. Swango comes alive in this fine work.
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