Acres of Skin

At a time of increased interest and renewed shock over the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, Acres of Skin sheds light on yet another dark episode of American medical history. In this disturbing expose, Allen M. Hornblum tells the story of Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison.

Autorentext

Allen M. Hornblum teaches Urban Studies at Temple University. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Prison System and as the Chief of Staff of Philadelphia's Sheriff's Office.

Klappentext

From the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s, inmates of Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison were used, in exchange for a few dollars, as guinea pigs in a host of medical experiments. Hornblum paints a disturbing portrait of abuse, moral indifference, and greed, as doctors, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania and prison officials, established the prison as a testing lab.

Zusammenfassung
Based on experiments on inmates in Philadelphia's Holmsburg Prison in the 1950s-1970s, this book raises provocative questions about human rights, prison treatment and medical and research ethics.

Inhalt

Introduction Part One The Subjects, the Doctors, and the Experiments 1. "The Money Was Good and the Money Was Easy." Inmates recall life and experiments at Holmesburg Prison 2. "It Was Like a Farmer Seeing a Fertile Field." Dr. Albert M.Kligman enters Holmesburg Part Two Twentieth-Century American Penal Experimentation 3. "They're Dropping Like Flies Out Here." History of U.S. prisoner experimentation Part Three Cruel and Unusual Experiments 4."The Walls Seemed To Be Breathing." The Army tests chemical warfare agents 5."I Am Not Part of the Program." Radioactive isotopes are introduced 6."Danger! This Material Is Extremely Toxic." The dioxin experiments Part Four The End of Experimentation at Holmesburg 7."Where Are We Going To Do These Things Now?" The slow demise of inmate experimentation 8."Retin-A®'s Birthplace Was at Holmesburg Prison." The discovery of Retin-A® 9."A Conspiracy of Silence." Conclusion