Rating: 
Summary: And they call this "medicine"?
Review: As much trust as we put in our doctors, even in this age of HMO nightmares, it is horrifying to think that a doctor put his ego and his theories ahead of the feelings and thoughts of a vulnerable child. Reading this story made me furious at Dr. Money, angry at the doctors and psychologists who could clearly see the experiment of turning a normal boy into a girl was a miserable failure but didn't have the guts to speak up, and made me feel sympathy for David and his family. Colapinto was smart in pointing out that it wasn't just David who suffered because of the absurd attempt to turn him into a girl after a botched circumcision. This was a family tragedy, after all, not just David's. With the evidence of David's story and those of others who were assigned a sex without considering their feelings, I have to wonder why nothing has been done to revoke Money's licence to practice psychology.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story
Review: This book is the only source for this interesting story. I was interested in knowing what happend to this person, and how exactly his circumcition was botched. I would have prefered this book to be more center in Davids personal accounts than on Doc. Money's.
Rating:
Summary: Freaked Me Out!
Review: Whoa! This book was quite an interesting read! I had never heard of this true life story until I came across this book a couple of months ago in my book club. I was totally shocked by the events in this story, and I read with a mixture of fascination and revulsion as the book described the circumcision attempt and subsequent charring of this child's genitalia in quite vivid details. The events in this story were almost beyond belief. A young boy is brought up as a girl as a result of a serious medical error and a doctor's extreme arrogance. The fact that this is still a relatively common procedure that is performed today when doctors face babies born as hermaphrodites and children with genital defects really astounded me. It almost seemed like science fiction. I could not believe that the so-called "doctor" who advocated this procedure and put this boy through such mental torture is one of the most respected "experts" in his field! And that most of what is "known" in the area of genital reassignment is based on this psycho's "research!" I really felt sorry for David (the main character), and when I saw him on Oprah I felt even more so. The doctors in his life not only mutilated his body, they also messed with his mind. This book is a sad and angering commentary on the medical field and their over-zealous, arrogant attempts to play God. With all of the mistakes they make in medicine, it really makes you wonder whom you can trust.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: This is an amazing excellently written book. I litterally could not put it down. I went into the book wondering if my initial questions would be answered. Like, how exactly could it happen that an entire penis could be destroyed by a routine curcumcision. This was fully explained in the book. I also couldn't understand how any parent in their right mind could ever agree to such an absurd idea. But when the author describes the couple as one with no highschool education being persuaded by a smooth-talking harvard educated doctor, it makes you wonder what you would have done under the same circumstances. Throughout the entire book I felt myself saddened for David and enraged by Dr. Money. I thought the author critically evaluated both sides fairly and Money was accurately portrayed for who he was. This book is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Readable
Review: This is a terrific book and a compelling read. When I first heard about David Reimer, I couldn't understand how his parents could have agreed to do what they did, but this book explains why in a well written book. His parents were told that their son would have to live "a life apart" as he grew into adulthood. I can only imagine how horrifying that diagnosis must have been and how relieved they must have been when Dr. John Money told them he could help. I agree with others who say that Dr. Money is portrayed unsympathetically in this book, but this is David's story. In David's eyes, Dr. Money was intent on destroying his life and his spirit, his inner voice that kept telling him that something was not right. This work is terrific for several reasons. Colapinto's narrative is compelling and readable. But this work is much more than a readable story. It is an inspiring story of David Reimer's inner strength and courage which I know I will never forget. If you have any curiousity about David's story (and it's really hard not to) read this book. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting but skewed account
Review: This is a well researched and gripping account of the reassignment of a young boy's gender which raises a number of significant issues. Not least of these is the matter of exactly what "gender" means, anyway. It's not as simple as most of us think. We tend to view gender assignment as one of life's very few unambiguous dichotomies. Colapinto's account makes it clear that this is a far more complex matter, having all kinds of serious and unanticipated implications. The book's most significant weakness is its unrelenting demonization of John Money. An earlier reviewer (Todd Stark) has correctly pointed out that the context is critical. Money was in fact one of the first serious researchers in the field of "sexology," which- despite the centrality of gender identity and sexual behavior in human affairs- was a marginalized discipline few took seriously(indeed, most derided) at the time he began his work. Money brought the whole field out of the closet, which was not well received by many who, given the cultural context, were badly threatened or repelled by what he described. Nowadays, most of this is pretty "old hat." Money deserves much credit for shining a lot of light into some very dark corners. His style was abrasive, to be sure, but without it, he'd not have had the impact he did. Clearly, in the Reimer case he was mistaken, but that should not result in his characterization as some sort of "mad scientist" or "medical monster," which is how he is portrayed by Colapinto. If Money is unfairly represented as the villain of the piece, David Reimer shines brightly as its hero, and appropriately so. The courage he consistently manifested throughout an extremely trying ordeal was remarkable. (The book's most powerful passages are those in which David speaks.) Despite its fundamental weakness, this is book I'd like to see get a very wide readership. It can't help but enlighten the reader about the amazingly complex phenomenon of gender assignment and identity and sensitize him/her to the pain experienced by those who are in some way "different."
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat disappointed
Review: I had heard so much about this family's tragedy that I had been looking forward to reading the book. I was pretty let down. I expected this book to be about Brenda/David, how this situation came to be, what the twins went through and where they are today. Although I did get that, I also got too much information about the doctors and 'extras' throughout the book. The reader does need the background on the doctors, parents, etc., but I wanted to learn more about David. David is truely a remarkable man. I haven't been thru half as much in my life but don't consider myself as strong a person as he. I wish him all the love, happiness and peace that life has to offer. He was touched very young in such a confusing way, but has made himself better for the struggle. David, you and your wife have been blessed with each other.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly fascinating
Review: I first heard of this case three years ago, in an undergraduate sociology class. At this point in time, the case of the "John/Joan" baby raised as a girl was reported to be a total success. What a shock to learn the real truth behind this sordid story; the bewildered, trusting parents, the arrogance of the medical world, and the misery of the unfortunate victim of the incident, David. For me, the most fascinating part of the book was hearing in David's own words what the experience was like for him. However, for those interested in the nature/nurture issue, or gender research, this book also gives intriguing, detailed information about these topics. I read this book mainly out of a morbid curiosity, but found myself touched by David's unique story. His confusion and attempts to fit into the female world were truly heartbreaking. I also felt empathy for his well-meaning parents. Whatever your reason for reading this book, you will not be dissapointed. Those interested in the scientific information also gain an understanding of the painful confusion that a sexually ambiguous individual feels. The readers who are mainly interested in the personal aspects of the story will also find themselves learning a great deal about the fascinating, age-old nature/nurture argument. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary and revealing, yet also missing context
Review: This is one of the most revealing books ever written regarding the pure drama of human experience. That's why it has been so popular and prize-winning. But the cost of portraying great drama is often sacrificing other interpretations and historical elements. Not only does this book chronicle the sad compelling story of a child born male, forced to live as a little girl, and then rising from the ashes as a man, but also the drama of medicine and human foibles in trying to deal with this human life. However, it is missing the historical context of the story in terms of sex research and the people involved in it. The drama of the doctor trying, unsuccessfully, to help patients with gender and sexuality problems is obscured by the greater drama of the eventual dismal failure and coverup. Perhaps most revealing of all is our own intense reaction to the villian of the story, Dr. John Money. Carefully portrayed at every instance as a self-obsessed, evil, uncaring demon, Money becomes the "cause" of the child's worst problems as we read the story. Indeed, Money plays the role well. Clearly, the story is partly an expose of Money's attempts to cover up his failure to reassign a boy as a girl through extreme measures. But it is not coverup of failure that is the crime here, it is the lengths to which it goes. What drives a person to be so immersed in their own ideas that they ignore the welfare of people they are trying to help ? That's where the book frustrated me, it didn't shed any light on that part at all. We're left assuming that the villian is either completely evil, or that part of the story is being left out. The literary problem is that the historical context of the story is missing, the all-important zeitgeist of sexuality research which existed at the time the story took place. The courage and sheer hardheadedness it took at that time to even admit to being a doctor studying sexuality and trying to address its problems was the background that led John Money to first propose a reassignment theory based on other kinds of cases now known to be very different, and then seek to support it at cost to the patients. But the story is far more interesting and important than just one an egotist or "pervert." It is also a story of a pioneering doctor and researcher of unusual courage in a wildly unpopular and even frequently demonized field of medicine, caught between the motive to help patients by advancing personal theories in spite of overwhelming resistance to his work, and the need to be sensitive to the needs of each individual special child. Did he simply not care about the victims, or was there another story to be told ? There were mistakes of several types made, especially by Money, but the appearance of villiany really seems to arise when Money's dedication and ego meets with a patient who seems to refuse to get better. That Money was completely wrong about when and how our sense of sexual identity appears, and how stable it is, would have been an understandable theoretical mistake at the time. He was among the very few who even tried to theorize about it. However, having to act on "theory" and affect the life of a human being put him into the unenviable position of becoming either the unsung hero who helped children adjust to unfortunate circumstances, or the widely publicized villian who convinced parents to let their child be treated to bizarre and unsuccessful attempts to reassign their gender. The view of him here as a villian is in very sharp focus, but for me it was tempered at least a touch by the evidence of poignant stories that weren't told, as well as the compelling one that was.
Rating:
Summary: A real eye opener
Review: This book is a real eye-opener! I have both an undergraduate and graduate degree in the social science area, and read the book after seeing a TV feature on the story. The beginning of the book is a bit technical, but if you have any experience with medical terminology, it isn't a problem. The story is horrifying, yet fascinating. It certainly suggests that there are some instances where 'nurture' cannot completely overcome 'nature'. This is a superb book, and it is definitely worth the time spent reading it!
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