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: 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: 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: Haunting, terrifying, horrifying.
Review: How did a maniac like Michael Swango get away with so much for so long? That's the one question that Stewart really can't answer in his intelligent, well-written (and surprisingly balanced) portrait of a doctor gone bad. (He makes a few good guesses--lack of effective policing in the medical community, our own faith in doctors' infallibility, etc.) Swango's level of pyschosis may be unique, but lack of oversight of poor and/or impaired doctors is not. Swango left a trail of bodies, poisonings, and bizarre occurences everywhere he went. Many people noticed, but no one who was in a position to ever blew the whistle on him. For shame. (A good book to read along with this one is Walter Bogdonavich's "The Great White Lie," about scandals in the medical community.) The sections dealing with Swango's late girlfriend, Kristin Kinney, are absolutely heartbreaking. I'm not a sentimental man, but I actually wept from the sheer horror of what that poor woman and her family went through. I only hope Swango is still in prison...particularly since I make my home in Illinois. (Oh, and if you're interested in writing, Stewart's "Follow the Story" is also witty and well worth reading.)
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: 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: 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.
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: 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
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