5 stars

I had to read a few chapters of this book in college and finally went back to read the whole thing through.

It is a horrible fact that this book had to be written, especially considering its length and that it would be impossible to cover all of the injustices African American have faced in regards to the American medial system.

But Washington does an amazing job examining this dark topic. This is a great book. It is often difficult to read, but it definitely a must read.

I really liked that Washington made it a point to go beyond the Tuskegee syphilis study, because many people (my own education included) really only know about the syphilis study. It is the go-to example of racial injustice in American medical research. But the sad truth is that there are so many more examples as well. Obviously, Washington could not possibly go into all of them, but she does a very good job of discussing a few.

While the book often feels very negative due to the subject matter, Washington ends on a high note by making some suggestions on how the system could be improved upon to ensure that people are able to give actual informed consent and are not taken advantage of by biased researchers.

This is a phenomenal book. It is thorough and well-written.

The language used if often not very objective, but when discussing human rights issues, it is understandable that one would use emotionally-saturated words.

This is a very important book, especially for those in the field of medicine. Washington’s examination of African American’s iatrophobia and its history have very important implications for health care at the present time and in the future.