The Icepick Surgeon

The Icepick Surgeon

by Sam Kean

Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Science

Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. For those under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. The Icepick Surgeon tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science.

Sam Kean masterfully guides the reader across two thousand years of history, from Cleopatra in ancient Egypt to the link between modern science and the transatlantic slave trade to Thomas Edison’s mercenary support of the electric chair. But the sins of science aren’t all safely buried in the past; we can draw direct lines form the medical abuses of Tuskegee and Nazi Germany to current vaccine hesitancy.

Unflinching, and exhilarating to the last page, The Icepick Surgeon fuses the drama of scientific discovery with the illicit thrill of a true-crime tale. With his trademark wit and precision, Kean shows that, while science has done more good than harm in the world, rogue scientists do exist, and when we sacrifice morals for progress, we often end up with neither.

PB