Reviews for In the Name of Science A History of Secret Programs, Medical Research, and Human Experimenta...

The average rating for In the Name of Science A History of Secret Programs, Medical Research, and Human Experimenta... based on 2 reviews is 1.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-01-23 00:00:00 Mark Gall When I started reading this book, I was blown away by the information in it: the history of eugenics in the US and its connection to the Nazi regime during WWII; the testing of nuclear and radioactive weapons by countries on their own civilians and soldiers; the manipulation of the FDA, drugs and drug testing... I couldn't help myself from talking about what I was learning in it to everyone I saw. I didn't really like when the author would interject personal anecdotes or experiences. I just feel like the complete removal of the author is necessary in non-fiction, because it allows a reader to focus completely on the facts being presented. And then I got to Chapter 9, where the author begins to discuss stem cell research and ultimately, abortion. The author would refer to fetuses as "babies," maybe in an effort to deliver extra shock-factor, or maybe out of personal bias and prejudice. He presented it like every abortion clinic and doctor is some sick mad scientist and heartless murderer. And at that point, I put the book down and couldn't bring myself to continue reading. Anyway. I still have mixed feelings about this book, because I felt really moved and excited by it in the beginning, and so turned-off and disappointed in it towards the end.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-02-07 00:00:00 Renee Silva The subject matter is fascinating and deserves more attention than it receives. However, the book makes some detours from well cited factual stories and starts promoting conspiracy theories (especially in the section where the author tells an entirely fictional story about how aids was created in a lab). This really undermines the credibility of the book as a whole despite some good work in other sections, so I can't conscionably recommend or promote the book.