Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Piece Of Work
Review: Like Den of Thieves, James B. Stewart has produced another well researched book, this time about Michael Swango. This is a true crime biography of a serial killer that had easy access to both the tools and victims he needed to fulfill his twisted fetish. It's a surprising journey, how just when you think he pushed his luck to far, he manages to slip through the cracks and resurface. It's an interesting read, that may startle you, and well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Piece Of Work
Review: Like Den of Thieves, James B. Stewart has produced another well researched book, this time about Michael Swango. This is a true crime biography of a serial killer that had easy access to both the tools and victims he needed to fulfill his twisted fetish. It's a surprising journey, how just when you think he pushed his luck to far, he manages to slip through the cracks and resurface. It's an interesting read, that may startle you, and well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Like watching a 20-year auto crash
Review: My wife started reading this first (actually it was a book on CD). She didn't know it was real. When I told her it wasn't fiction she was visibly stunned. You cannot believe what the fraternity of the medical community will do to protect its own... while this whackjob calmly knocks of dozens of people. It is an incredibly well researched, well written account of The System gone nuts. You will be scared, frustrated and educated as to How Things Really Work in medicine, colleges, etc. And you will never look at a(n unfamiliar) doctor the same. A fabulous book... 10 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Like watching a 20-year auto crash
Review: My wife started reading this first (actually it was a book on CD). She didn't know it was real. When I told her it wasn't fiction she was visibly stunned. You cannot believe what the fraternity of the medical community will do to protect its own... while this whackjob calmly knocks of dozens of people. It is an incredibly well researched, well written account of The System gone nuts. You will be scared, frustrated and educated as to How Things Really Work in medicine, colleges, etc. And you will never look at a(n unfamiliar) doctor the same. A fabulous book... 10 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a Read
Review: The most important thing to keep in mind while reading this book is that its subject, Michael Swango, is a serial killer. He is an aberration. That being said, the idea of medical care professionals being killers is a nightmare that our medical system has to make even more impossible and rare.Mr. Stewart shows how Swango was abetted by the system's clubby nature to protect its own against charges and suites, how he used the desperation of the more outlying medical facilities for doctors, and how psychopaths can charm and persuade those around them that the evidence to the contrary, their eyes are deceiving them. This is a good read, but in some ways a very difficult one. It is interesting and compelling and yet it feels like being caught in a horrifying dream. Just as hard cases make bad law, these rare but horrible events make us want to do something, anything, in order to allow us to believe this could never happen again. But the reality is killers kill. There are things the medical establishment could and should do in order to better weed out bad doctors, nurses, and others who staff our health care system. But to think in terms of a major restructuring in order to avoid something so extremely rare is as unrealistic as doing nothing. The book ends with the possibility that Swango would be released a few months from the publication date. However, Swango has since pleaded guilty to four murders in order to avoid the death penalty and extradition to Zimbabwe. So, he is in prison for four consecutive life sentences. Thank heaven for that! If this topic is interesting to you this is a very good book. But be prepared for reading about a very sick person and the horrible things he did to innocent and trusting people.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book about a very sick and evil man.
Review: The most important thing to keep in mind while reading this book is that its subject, Michael Swango, is a serial killer. He is an aberration. That being said, the idea of medical care professionals being killers is a nightmare that our medical system has to make even more impossible and rare. Mr. Stewart shows how Swango was abetted by the system's clubby nature to protect its own against charges and suites, how he used the desperation of the more outlying medical facilities for doctors, and how psychopaths can charm and persuade those around them that the evidence to the contrary, their eyes are deceiving them. This is a good read, but in some ways a very difficult one. It is interesting and compelling and yet it feels like being caught in a horrifying dream. Just as hard cases make bad law, these rare but horrible events make us want to do something, anything, in order to allow us to believe this could never happen again. But the reality is killers kill. There are things the medical establishment could and should do in order to better weed out bad doctors, nurses, and others who staff our health care system. But to think in terms of a major restructuring in order to avoid something so extremely rare is as unrealistic as doing nothing. The book ends with the possibility that Swango would be released a few months from the publication date. However, Swango has since pleaded guilty to four murders in order to avoid the death penalty and extradition to Zimbabwe. So, he is in prison for four consecutive life sentences. Thank heaven for that! If this topic is interesting to you this is a very good book. But be prepared for reading about a very sick person and the horrible things he did to innocent and trusting people.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the time to listen to, but read the book, too
Review: The story of Dr. Michael Swango is an interesting one, and this audio book covers the high points of his life and crimes. I would recommend the audio book, but also the printed book for those who are interested in a more in-depth portrayal.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God he's in jail now!!
Review: This is the story of how a doctor convicted of poisoning 6 of his coworkers at an ambulance service managed to get job after job as a physician. And how he subsequently murdered up to 60 patients due to the incompetence, arrogance, and corruption of the medical institutions and physicians involved. The laxness of the application and interview process at some of the most prestigious institutions in the U.S. is exposed. Every single time he was suspected of foul play, the institutions involved merely fired him, without any police involvement. I was shocked that nurses, patient family members and patients themselves witnessed Swango's misdeeds, yet weren't listed to because it was their word against a physician's. When Swango moved on to kill in small hospitals in Zimbabwe, police officials were notified almost immediately by suspicious coworkers. The contrast between the quick action of the medical establishment in bush areas of Zimbabwe and the lying and covering up of U.S. establishments was startling. The book tries to answer the question of why Swango killed and poisoned so many people. The book really has no conclusion other than he's a psycopath, which is probably about as good as anyone can understand this. Swango was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. This book points out there may be other Swangos out there and that's really scary.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a Read
Review: This tells the story of a serial killer, made all the more remarkable because of the fact that he is a physician. Whether or not this is "yellow journalism" isn't really the point, because the physician in question has since confessed to 4 homicides, and even more importantly Stewart does a great job of showing how the system allowed this to happen, even if he is clearly biased against the medical profession. He tries to make a case that doctors protected their own to the point that one was able to commit an untold number of murders over a very large span of years. Its even theorized at the end of the book that he could be the most prolific serial killer in history. If you read this novel, be prepared to be both angered and saddened. So much could have possibly been prevented had anyone looked beyond the system and seen how disturbed he truly was. This case is nothing if not thought provoking, and is worthy of being read. Just bear in mind that you're getting a one-sided look at a noble profession, and that the man in question is certainly not representative of physicians everywhere.
| 
