What do You think about Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder (2000)?
An interesting book about a terrible person. I'd like to think that a Swango wouldn't get nearly so far in today's system and feel reasonably confident that would be the case. I spend most of my time in hospitals, and I think that the wall described in the book between nurses and doctors isn't quite so high anymore. Amazed that was able to get three residencies, and how little communication between programs there was. Saddest part, I thought, was (view spoiler)[that his fiance killed herself. He obviously was not a healthy person to be around (physically or emotionally) and I found it tragic that her story ended the way it did. So sad. (hide spoiler)]
—Brad
Fascinating story about an oddball misfit who somehow got into medical school, remained weird and aloof, began killing patients in ways that allowed him to be there pronouncing time of death, but just keeps getting away with it. Most troubling and revealing was the way that the medical school stymied the investigative and reporting efforts of the few students who gradually became convinced "Dr. Death" (as they'd nicknamed him) was killing patients. What had tipped the students off was the man's complete lack of compassion or even interest in patients. All he seemed interested in was the dead and dying, even taking an extra job as an EMT because he got such a rush from arriving on the scene of horrible accidents or murders. His fellow EMTS likewise grew suspicious, but it was years before justice caught up with the man.The fact that this is a true story just makes it that much scarier. Besides the murdering, this is an excellent picture of a man who conned everyone and used people, somehow hiding his utter disregard for them on any level other than what they could do for him. Interesting indictment of the "thin white line" of the medical community and its tendency to protect its own.
—Steven
Bayangkanlah seorang dokter muda yang tampan tapi berpembawaan diam bekerja di rumah sakit tempat Anda dirawat atau bahkan bekerja. Bayangkan saja jika kemudian--entah hanya kebetulan ataukah ada kaitannya--, bersamaan dengan kedatangan dokter muda tampan ini, jumlah kematian mendadak di RS Anda itu melonjak. Bayangkan saja apa rasanya Anda akan pura-pura tidak khawatir, pura-pura tidak gelisah, atau malah paranoid? Bayangkan amarah yang mungkin bisa Anda rasakan ketika hari ini mendapati kerabat Anda dirawat di RS tersebut, sudah membaik dan nyaris sehat, tapi kemudian tiba-tiba meninggal. Bayangkan saja.Saya sendiri bisa membayangkan ketakutan yang mungkin akan saya rasakan jika berada di RS tersebut. Mungkin juga saya sudah membayangkan ini terlalu berlebihan untuk bisa jadi nyata, mengingat ini seperti film-film thriller Hollywood yang mengerikan. Tapi, lebih mengerikan lagi ternyata ketika tahu bahwa dokter tersebut adalah orang yang nyata dengan kegilaan yang juga nyata.James B. Stewart, penulis buku Blind Eye ini, adalah juga seorang jurnalis yang telah menginvestigasi kasus dokter pencabut nyawa yang saya katakan muda dan tampan tadi, yang aslinya bernama Michael Swango. Buku nonfiksi ini mengisahkan hidup Swango mulai dari ia masih menjadi mahasiswa kedokteran di Southern Illinois University, hingga tugas medisnya di beberapa rumah sakit di Zimbabwe, Afrika. Kengerian-kengerian selalu mengikuti ke mana pun Swango bertugas; di Ohio, Quincy, Columbus, dan lain-lain. Apa yang sebetulnya bisa Swango lakukan sampai-sampai ia mendapat julukan (lelucon) dengan Double-O-Swango alias "license to kill".Rasanya, Swango ini terlalu gila untuk bisa jadi manusia nyata. Korbannya sudah terlalu banyak. Ia bahkan disebut sebagai pembunuh berantai paling banyak memakan korban dalam sejarah Amerika. Ini setelah ia betul-betul terbukti bersalah.Blind Eye memenangkan Pulitzer Prize dan menjadi buku pilihan The New York Times Bestseller serta memenangkan The Edgar Award.
—Astri Apriyani
