Rating: 
Summary: Riveting
Review: This book is a page-turner. It shows how cavalier people can be when others are suffering, even dying, but they themselves are not. The administrators who let Swango slide through, even though he was committing murder, were more concerned with avoiding legal hassles, and preserving their positions, than they were with saving future victims from being poisened and murdered. (That is a distinction: The FBI estimates that Swango has murdered as many as 60 people. This number does not even include the numerous victims whom he poisoned, but who did not actually die). Aside from the horror of Swango committing these murders, the reader should ask him/herself: would you have behaved as those people who did not do anything to stop Swango did? Are you one of those who learned about Juanita Broaddrick's convincing claims that Bill Clinton raped her, but thought, "Well, the Dow Jones Average is above 10,000, so who cares if there is a rapist in the White House." I think James B. Stewart and his publishers were very brave to write this book. If you read the "New York Times Book Review" review and best-seller list summary of BLIND EYE, they are very careful legally, to say Swango is the "alleged" murder of these victims. Because Swango has in fact not been convicted of murder in a court of law; innocent until proven guilty, and all that. So Swango could easily sue Stewart and his publisher. But they took the legal risk, and wrote and published BLIND EYE, anyway. A risk like few people in BLIND EYE were willing to take, who let Swango get away with murder. To their eternal shame.
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Summary: Great book. You will not believe what happens in this book.
Review: What this doctor does will shock you. Each page you read makes you keeping reading to find out how or if it ends.
Rating:
Summary: Cancel Your Weekend Plans
Review: James Stewart is an outstanding journalist and this is a great read. A book of non-fiction that would be implausible if fiction, this book is very hard to put down. I spent three straight nights reading it. The message from this book is that this countries government needs to get involved with the insular medical community to protect the public. The attitude towards these deaths was mind-boggling. The only thing that is missing from this book is the confession and inside information from Swango (a la In Cold Blood). Well, here's hoping Swango stays in prison and never gets near anyone's food.
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Summary: BUT IT IS NOT OVER!
Review: This guy could be released in a few months. Wherever he winds up, there will be tragedy. The administrators at Ohio State who could have put this thing to an end are now in positions where they can do even worse damage. Although there have been some checks and balances placed into effect, the main problem still exists. The arrogance of medical practitioners. This book should be on the list of required reading at all medical schools and police academies.
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Summary: Reality can be scary
Review: The only thing scarier than a pscyhopathic doctor suspected of poisoning and killing dozens of people is the way he can work the system. This guy was the Ted Bundy of the medical profession--charming, intelligent, and convincing. Instead of thorough investigations by the residency programs and hospitals, he was pushed away and off to the next institution in a "not my problem" fashion.I couldn't put this book down. The only fault was the last couple of chapters which were disorganized and didn't fit with the suspense tale told in the previous ones.
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Summary: This Is How True Crime Should Be Written !
Review: Blind Eye by James Stewart represents the best of the non-fiction crime genre. The story is well organized, richly detailed, given place and perspective, and as much insight as possible when dealing with a subject such as Dr. Michael Swango who is a compulsive and random poisoner. A person such as Swango has to be everybody's worst nightmare. Intelligent, charming, sociable, urbane, well read, professionally credentialed, and in the grip of a compulsion so horrific that I'm sure even he could not begin to explain it. It's just a horrible abberation of the human personality. A rare one, thankfully, but not unheard of. Marie Willey, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ms. Buenoano, Velma Barfield, Genine Jones, to name a few that have had books written about them. They would all feel very much at home with Dr. Swango's story. One of the horrors is that we only know about these because they've been caught. Surely there are many others out there who are never caught. Where are the psychiatric researchers? This is the same syndrome as the random and serial rapist, serial strangler, serial firesetter, etc. These people are overwhelmed by an obsession or a compulsion that must be obeyed, no matter what happens. They cannot be given freedom because they simply do not become normal. I think that Dr. Swango is really a soul in terrible pain and at some level, some part of him has been trying for decades to notify the world as to what he is feeling and how he deals with it. But who would believe it? It's so outside of ordinary experience that it is no wonder there were so many who doubted, and probably still doubt, that such a nice guy could do this kind of thing. The only answer for the safety of the community at large is for Swango and others, if they are caught, must be permanently confined and kept away from the tools of their respective trades, even in prison. They are really not in control of what they do and must be carefully supervised. Thanks for a great book Mr. Stewart. Very well done. Perhaps such consciousness raising will be of some help to all of us.
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Summary: Peer Review? Unavailable!
Review: Protect thyself is the theme throughout this book. I could be next. There are numerous excellent practitioners in each setting, but it only takes one bad apple and he/she should not be tolerated beyond one incident, as minor as that might be. Next trip to the medical community I would recommend keeping both eyes open plus a few in the back of your head. This is not the past. It happens today and will happen tomorrow also.
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Summary: THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
Review: THIS BOOK IS SO PROFOUND AND SO REAL, MR STEWARD HASN'T A CLUE TO HOW TRUE IT IS IN THE REAL WORLD. MY DAUGHTER, I BELIEVE, WAS MURDERED BY A DOCTOR AND IT IS THE "ALMOST PERFECT MURDER". THERE IS A NEW BOOK BREWING, I CAN FEEL IT. ESPECIALLY IF MR STEWART WERE TO HEAR MY STORY. HE WRITES SO WELL, I TRIED, AND CAN'T QUITE PUT IT IN WORDS AS HE CAN. WHAT A GIFTED WRITER HE IS. THIS BOOK SHOWS THE EFFORT AND RESEARCH THAT TOWERS THE POLICE AND OTHER INVESTIGATORS. MR STEWART SHOULD BE THE HEAD OF THE CIA, FBI AND ALL LOCAL INFORCEMENT AGENCIES. THEY ALL MIGHT LEARN FROM HIM. THANK YOU
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Summary: Journalism at Its Best
Review: This is such a well-written book that I was compelled to read it in two days, although I wanted it to last longer. Swango is truly a menace and should be the medical community's worst nightmare. However, I have personally seen doctors cover up for one another (one, a drunk; another, so blind his wife came in on the weekends with him to sign his charts; both still in practice) and therefore am skeptical that any changes will come about because of this book. But they should!! Great book!
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Summary: A compelling wake up call for hospitals and our government.
Review: As a medical staff coordinator (basically we do the background checks on physicians for the medical staff) I found this book quite interesting. I read it straight through. I want to assure you that there are now many checks and balances in place that would not allow Swango to fall through the cracks. This includes the National Practitioners Data Bank and Federal of State Medical Boards. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with residency and internship programs processing so I do not know if they utilize these sources. Our government has also instituted a new data bank (HIPDB) going into effect in just a few days which would include criminal background information. Unfortunately, hospitals are not allowed access to this information. How tragic. I urge each of you to contact your state representative about this matter as soon as possible. I shared the content of this book with my administrators, Credential Committee and Board of Trustee members. They were astonished. They are now passing the book around and buying their own copies. We are even buying a copy to put in our Medical Staff library for the rest of the staff to read. My hospital has toyed with the thought of performing criminal background checks on all physician applicants. This book was instrumental in making in reality. It is now a policy to do this on every physician applicant. Many of those in my profession have been following this story for some time now. My thanks goes to James Stewart for opening the eyes of the rest of the country to this monster. Unfortunately, the monster is not just Swango, but also the process that allowed him to go from residency program to residency program with such ease. It is comforting to know that there were those out there that attempted to stop him but frightening to know that others, such as those in Ohio, were more concerned about their own problems than stopping a murderer. I urge everyone to read this book and to encourage others, especially those in medicine to do the same. With people like Swamgo in the world today, it is a must that hospitals, training programs and licensing boards go much further in working to protect the patient. My prayers will continue for the families of the victims to bring this killer to justice. I am frightened to know that he may be out on the streets in just a few short months but thankful that the government found some way to lock him up for at least a little while.
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