Joshua A. Perper

Received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program

I had several problems with the book. On my copy of the book there is no indication that it is an Advanced Reader's copy, but there were multiple typos, including an instance in which the same two sentences were repeated twice. I also had problems with the seeming attempts at humor. The first time, early in the book, "It is hard to believe that such a thing could happen in Chicago," I was not sure if the authors were trying to be funny or not. However, two pages later the statement "Considering the widespread corruption in Chicago during the 1880s. . ." led me to believe that they were. I found this type of humor, which occurs several times in the book, out of place with the tone of the rest of the book, especially considering the book was about murder.

I could not figure out why the Nazis were treated to two chapters in the book, when the material could easily have been condensed into a single chapter. I am unsure of the inclusion of Jack the Ripper (since really there is no evidence as to who he was, let alone that he was a doctor) as well as Dr. Sam Sheppard, who has been cleared of the murder of his wife. At least one doctor was given a single paragraph, almost as an afterthought, and in several places, there was very little transition from one physician to the next.

One of my biggest complaints is the lack of footnotes. Although sources are listed for each chapter, there are no footnotes. For me in a nonfiction book, this is an unforgivable sin.

There are some things to like in the book. There is a good overall scheme to the book and many of the ways in which physicians kill is covered - including becoming dictators. Who knew? I think many readers will find the subject matter of interest, although the treatment is somewhat superficial.… (meer)

When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How- by Joshua Perper and Stephen J. Cina


I was very excited to read this book. From reading about the authors, I thought it was great to have a book about some of the well known reasons and theories of why doctors kill. Having a professional background in psychology, and post-graduate studies in forensic psychology and law, I am always looking for new material to recommend to friends who teach college courses, or to keep in mind, should I decide to teach a course in the future. This book had the potential to be informative and controversial, both assets to any classroom discussion.
I was impressed with about the first 100 pages. It was reader friendly, informative, and added a bit of humor on an otherwise dark subject. Many important subjects were covered, such as: doctors trying to make advancements in medicine, serial killers, doctors with a “God” complex-who liked to have the power of life and death, government medical trials on human subjects, and Nazi “medical experiments” during WWII. Several specific and important cases were cited, and overall, I thought that part was well written.
And then came part four, the authors included another approximately forty (which seemed like another 100) pages on terrorism and politics. Other than the fact that the politicians and terrorist who committed atrocious acts while in positions of power. Other than the fact that they had obtained a medical degree at some point in their lives was irrelevant. They were killing people, and training people to kill as their role as a leader (of a country, a terrorist organization, etc...), not as a medical doctor. Therefore, it should not have been included in the book because they were not “Doctors who Kill” technically. They were, as the title of the section in the book was titled “Politicians” or “Terrorists” that kill.
Part five of the book started of nicely, and I began to regain hope for this book. It discussed the issues of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Again, a great topic for debate, and a couple of noteworthy cases were presented. Cutting out section four, and ending with euthanasia, the book just should have ended. Or, could have included, a whole area not even mentioned, the statistics on doctors who kill their families and spouses, which is not that uncommon.

Instead, there is the real ending that I felt completely went off topic again, and was written based more on opinion. I agree with them, but it didn't seem like the appropriate place to bring up those medical dilemmas because once again, it does not stay on the topic of “Why Doctors Kill.” The book goes on about the public's view of TV doctors, once again, information that probably could have been left out. They gave definitions of different types of non-medical treatment options and some of the fatal outcomes. Once again, information I felt irrelevant because these were treatment choices that the patient made. They then brought up the issue of over-prescribing medication, and the dilemma doctors have to treat pain, and the savvyness of patients to make up symptoms to get medications and addiction. Which lead into “Doctors to the Stars” who over prescribe medication to -which the authors even state that killing them would be ridiculous because they make large sums of cash and do not have to deal with insurance companies. Ending with the evil issue of malpractice, and make a convincing defense of why most doctors don't want to kill.
Umm...now I am confused. I read this book because I wanted to know “Why Doctors Kill,” not how they are over stressed, over worked, and live in constant fear of malpractice suits...unless you are setting up a defense for why they kill. But that was not given as any motive.… (meer)

"When Doctors Kill" is a titilating compilation of The Doctors' Greatest "Hits" -- more murderous MD mayhem than you may have known existed in history. As it turns out, some of the history wasn't about murderous doctors -- there was a section about the history of medical oaths and ethics (which serves as appropriate background to the discussion). And some of the mayhem wasn't history, or wasn't homicide as it's commonly understood. I was disappointed to see the inclusion of a whole section of fictional physicians. The book also included a section of falsely-accused physicians. There was even one physician who may or may not be guilty, but whose alleged crime had nothing to do with his being an MD, if he did indeed commit the murder in question -- it would have been a standard domestic homicide disguised as a killing by an intruder. And there was also a section for doctors who killed through sheer negligence and/or lack of sufficient spine to deny high-powered clients what they wanted in terms of drugs and such. Many of the cases were very well-known. Indeed, it seems that the motivating factor in writing this book was the fact that Anna Nicole Smith wound up in the authors' morgue.

This book was a bit of a dissapointment to me. I had hoped for more insight into why doctors kill -- what makes someone who has devoted his or her life to healing become a killer -- some in-depth analysis of the psychology, what drives them. Such analysis as was included was pretty basic, the sort of stuff any layperson could probably figure out. And then there were the typographical and grammar errors. As far as I could tell, this was a "finished copy," with no indication that it was an advance copy, yet it contained a multitude of errors which any halfway competent copyreader should have caught -- including the backward statement that (though some doctors kill) most doctors do "more harm than good." Yikes! There was also a section about Elvis (yes, that Elvis) where an apostrophe appeared after his name almost every time he was mentioned by name. It was very annoying.

Most annoying of all were the snide little asides which were clearly intended as humor, but which fell flat most of the time. Occasionally they were worth a snicker, but mostly they were just annoying and clashed with the seriousness of the topic. Some were a real stretch as far as any relevance to the topic being discussed, particularly some of the ones with political overtones. I must admit that this annoyance may be coloring my perceptions of the overall quality of the book.

The book was relatively readable (except for the grammar/spelling errors) and did include some interesting information. However, for some of the doctor/murderers in history, I had a hard time discerning from the account how all the facts presented about their crimes had come to be known -- whether all were proven facts, or if some were mere suspicions/allegations.… (meer)

I have not yet finished this book, but I am already thoroughly enjoying it. I chose to read specific cases that interested me first since the layout of the book is set up in chapters that are clearly meant to be read either from cover to cover or case by case. I love the way the authors have tried to keep the book strictly factual, and have left out their "opinions" and their own conjecture as to what may or may not have actually occurred. I've uncovered several interesting facts about the medical profession that even if you've been in the medical field may be surprising to you. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading true crime or have an interest in medical crime.… (meer)