Reviews
Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen
captaincocanutty's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A lot of really interesting information about the eugenics movement in America, and I think this would've been a much better book if that were the focus, since considerably more time is spent on the lawyers, judges, and historical context of the case than the case itself.
A lot of really interesting information about the eugenics movement in America, and I think this would've been a much better book if that were the focus, since considerably more time is spent on the lawyers, judges, and historical context of the case than the case itself.
circe813's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Confinement, and Racism
eroston's review against another edition
We'll be very lucky if the future isn't as terrifying as the past.
wastedwings's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good look into American eugenics, the atmosphere and key players surrounding what happened to Carrie Buck and the disgusting, racist ideals of so many rich, influential people in American history that led to the passing of eugenics laws.
Ford, Rockefellers, Harrimans, A G Bell, Carnegies, Jefferson, Madison Grant, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge's Good House Keeping article, Sat Evening Post, New York Times, Kellogg and Margaret Sanger to name a few that were mentioned. Also mentioned briefly at the end how Buck v Bell was referenced at the Nuremberg trials- proving how much American policies need to radically shift.
I only give this 4 stars because some of the information could have been better organized. There is some overlap/ repeated information that is unnecessary. Additionally, the book is pretty dry. I'd really encourage people to check out Edwin Black's "War Against the Weak" for a more comprehensive look into American eugenics and how it directly impacted/ impacts global politics on a wider scale- not just limited to Buck v Bell.
Ford, Rockefellers, Harrimans, A G Bell, Carnegies, Jefferson, Madison Grant, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge's Good House Keeping article, Sat Evening Post, New York Times, Kellogg and Margaret Sanger to name a few that were mentioned. Also mentioned briefly at the end how Buck v Bell was referenced at the Nuremberg trials- proving how much American policies need to radically shift.
I only give this 4 stars because some of the information could have been better organized. There is some overlap/ repeated information that is unnecessary. Additionally, the book is pretty dry. I'd really encourage people to check out Edwin Black's "War Against the Weak" for a more comprehensive look into American eugenics and how it directly impacted/ impacts global politics on a wider scale- not just limited to Buck v Bell.
sbenzell's review against another edition
1.0
An extremely disappointing book on a potentially very interesting topic.
To me, the most obvious reason that this is an interesting case is that we have reached a new age of biology. Genetics has advanced dramatically since the early 1900s. It seems like Buck v. Bell would be an awesome lens to examine these issues through: How did the legal and healthcare systems incorporate science into their decisions, how much deference did they show to scientists, and how should social and private interests be balanced. This book basically ignores all these issues. In discussing Buck v. Bell, the authors argue that the case was screwed up for three reasons:
a) The science of the time was flawed (but how were jurists supposed to evaluate this?)
b) Carrie's case in particular was manufactured, and not reality based in many ways (i.e. her defense counsel failed to bring up plentiful evidence of Carrie's average intelligence).
c) Oliver Wendell Holmes was an entitled asshole (some ugly quotes of his are dug up, but the author doesn't really engage with his arguments)
While the authors do a great job of exploring (b) -- in fact, it is almost the entire focus of the book (beyond trashing Holmes) -- this is really the least interesting part of the case. I would have much more appreciated a discussion of (a) -- how are non-experts supposed to evaluate a science from the outside? (c), while providing some interesting background, was also less interesting to me.
The authors also ignore (d) -- the idea that the case might have been decided incorrectly even if all the eugenicists' claims were correct. This to me is the most important and critical question of all! Eventually we're going to develop genetic technologies that eugenicists would have salivated over, and we're actually going to have to decide how to use them! Pointing out that cases can be manufactured to bias jurists is an important thing to keep in mind as we confront that issue, but is hardly the central issue.
I was tempting to give 2 stars, because there is some interesting background about how mental health was handled at the time, but the book completely fails to explain WHY eugenics become more or less popular in the US in this area -- it's sort of a background zeitgeist, when that should be central. The book also seems to focus on particularly clumsy counter arguments for eugenecists? For example, the book keeps countering that 'it can't be the case that 40% of American's are imbeciles', as some eugenecists measured. But this completely begs the question. If the authors have another definition of imbecile in mind, they should have stated it.
Very disappointing.
To me, the most obvious reason that this is an interesting case is that we have reached a new age of biology. Genetics has advanced dramatically since the early 1900s. It seems like Buck v. Bell would be an awesome lens to examine these issues through: How did the legal and healthcare systems incorporate science into their decisions, how much deference did they show to scientists, and how should social and private interests be balanced. This book basically ignores all these issues. In discussing Buck v. Bell, the authors argue that the case was screwed up for three reasons:
a) The science of the time was flawed (but how were jurists supposed to evaluate this?)
b) Carrie's case in particular was manufactured, and not reality based in many ways (i.e. her defense counsel failed to bring up plentiful evidence of Carrie's average intelligence).
c) Oliver Wendell Holmes was an entitled asshole (some ugly quotes of his are dug up, but the author doesn't really engage with his arguments)
While the authors do a great job of exploring (b) -- in fact, it is almost the entire focus of the book (beyond trashing Holmes) -- this is really the least interesting part of the case. I would have much more appreciated a discussion of (a) -- how are non-experts supposed to evaluate a science from the outside? (c), while providing some interesting background, was also less interesting to me.
The authors also ignore (d) -- the idea that the case might have been decided incorrectly even if all the eugenicists' claims were correct. This to me is the most important and critical question of all! Eventually we're going to develop genetic technologies that eugenicists would have salivated over, and we're actually going to have to decide how to use them! Pointing out that cases can be manufactured to bias jurists is an important thing to keep in mind as we confront that issue, but is hardly the central issue.
I was tempting to give 2 stars, because there is some interesting background about how mental health was handled at the time, but the book completely fails to explain WHY eugenics become more or less popular in the US in this area -- it's sort of a background zeitgeist, when that should be central. The book also seems to focus on particularly clumsy counter arguments for eugenecists? For example, the book keeps countering that 'it can't be the case that 40% of American's are imbeciles', as some eugenecists measured. But this completely begs the question. If the authors have another definition of imbecile in mind, they should have stated it.
Very disappointing.
whitecat5000's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I thought this was going to be more about Carrie Buck, but instead this seems to be discussing each physician or judge that had a hand in the Supreme Court case as well as a discussion why eugenics was wrong.
rallisaurus's review against another edition
4.0
Probably closer to 3 1/2 stars because it was so repetitive. But a powerful a story nonetheless
hcross's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly researched, eloquently written, and blood chilling. It’s been a long time since reading such a good book has made me so miserable.