6/10
Even though I don't generally read a ton of nonfiction, I was really excited when I found this book on Goodreads. I was searching through the giveaways and I happened upon an ARC giveaway. I didn't win, but I did request and electronic ARC through NetGalley. The book is meant to tell of the "first heart transplant in the segregated South." It did tell of the heart transplant, but it also included a TON of unnecessary additions. What could have been an interesting read about Bruce Tucker, was really just a confusing tale of medical malpractice through the ages. It wasn't the focused work that it set itself up to be. Just let me explain.
Summary from Amazon:
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks meets Get Out in this landmark investigation of racial inequality at the core of the heart transplant race.
In 1968, Bruce Tucker, a black man, went into Virginia’s top research hospital with a head injury, only to have his heart taken out of his body and put into the chest of a white businessman. Now, in The Organ Thieves, Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist Chip Jones exposes the horrifying inequality surrounding Tucker’s death and how he was used as a human guinea pig without his family’s permission or knowledge. The circumstances surrounding his death reflect the long legacy of mistreating African Americans that began more than a century before with cadaver harvesting and worse. It culminated in efforts to win the heart transplant race in the late 1960s.
Featuring years of research and fresh reporting,The Organ Thieves is a story that resonates now more than ever, when issues of race and healthcare are the stuff of headlines and horror stories."
Let me start off this largely negative review by saying that I had absolutely no problem with Jones' writing style. The Organ Thieves was very well written. In fact, the way he wrote it really allowed you insight to the emotions that were being felt by those involved with the case. The writing was very immersive and emotional. The book was also very well researched. It was clear that Jones spent a very long time researching the premise and making sure that he had accurate background information. If the book had been more focused, I see no reason why this could not have been a 8-9/10 for me. It was the excess of information that really threw me off and caused the book to really drag.
While I understand that Jones was going for a well-rounded work of nonfiction that was meant to provide background to the Bruce Tucker case, that isn't what happened. The additions of so many different historical events that didn't directly affect the case of the stolen heart and kidneys, made the book way too long and it ultimately confused the point. The book is meant to be about the case of Bruce Tucker, whose organs were taken without his family's permission back in 1968. The first chapter is about Bruce Tucker, the first chapter really brings you into the book. The next chapter is just about the history of the Medical College of Virginia and then the next portion is about grave robbing. I read this as an e-book, so my perception of chapter breakdowns is kind of off. But, I can break it down by percentages. The first 2% are about Bruce Tucker (The man whose organs were thieved); the next 33% is about grave robbing, the creation of the MCV, and the heart transplant race; the next 45% is the court case and the events surrounding Bruce Tucker's death; the final 5% is a mixed bag, half Bruce Tucker and half archaeological survey of the MCV grounds. The final 15% is an appendix/glossary/acknowledgements/citations (which is fine, that 15% is necessary to any work of nonfiction). This means that about ~35% (give or take) is not related directly to Bruce Tucker. That would be fine if this book weren't slated to be a story about the events that occurred when the man's organs were taken unlawfully. If it had just been reformatted and retitled, this would be a good study of medical malpractice, particularly racially biased medical malpractice. As it is, it feels unfocused; my professors would rip into me for including so much unnecessary information if I turned this in as a paper. There was a ton of information that felt like it was included to A. bulk up the book and B. to make the author sound even more intelligent (which didn't feel necessary, he seems smart without the random facts sprinkled in).
My final thoughts as that if you want to read about the institution of the MCV and the long history of medical malpractice in the United States that relates particularly to the unlawful procurement of cadavers, as well as the case where a black man's organs were taken unlawfully, then you might want to look into this one. If you just want to read about what happened to Bruce Tucker and the court case that followed, well it's in here, but you'll have to do a lot of digging to read it. It is well written, but the book is incredibly unfocused and annoying to follow.
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