Blind Eye - by James B Stewart (Paperback)

About the Book

The author of "Den of Thieves" traces the path of Michael Swango--who seemed a model young doctor until his patients began dying in suspicious circumstances. The doctor is thought by the FBI to be the most successful serial killer in the nation's history. Second serial to New York "Daily News".

Book Synopsis

A medical thriller from Pulitzer Prize-winning author James B. Stewart about serial killer doctor Michael Swango and the medical community that chose to turn a blind eye on his criminal activities.

No one could believe that the handsome young doctor might be a serial killer. Wherever he was hired--in Ohio, Illinois, New York, South Dakota--Michael Swango at first seemed the model physician. Then his patients began dying under suspicious circumstances.

At once a gripping read and a hard-hitting look at the inner workings of the American medical system, Blind Eye describes a professional hierarchy where doctors repeatedly accept the word of fellow physicians over that of nurses, hospital employees, and patients--even as horrible truths begin to emerge. With the prodigious investigative reporting that has defined his Pulitzer Prize-winning career, James B. Stewart has tracked down survivors, relatives of victims, and shaken coworkers to unearth the evidence that may finally lead to Swango's conviction.

Combining meticulous research with spellbinding prose, Stewart has written a shocking chronicle of a psychopathic doctor and of the medical establishment that chose to turn a blind eye on his criminal activities.

Review Quotes

A remarkable piece of reporting.--Scott McLemee "Newsday"

Blind Eye is a flat-out horrifying nonfiction profile of Michael Swango...Stewart is an excellent writer and reporter...This is a brave and passionate book.--Joan O'C. Hamilton "Business Week"

Chillingly thorough....Wonderfully done....An elaborate journalistic reconstruction that has the fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel.--Lance Morrow "The New York Times Book Review"

Is Blind Eye worth reading? Yes, Jim Stewart's books always are.--Joseph Nocera "Fortune"

James B. Stewart's Blind Eye is a persuasive case against Dr. Michael Swango.--R. Z. Sheppard "Time magazine"

Stewart has produced an extraordinary book.--Steve Twedt "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"

Stewart penetrates the hermetically sealed world of medicine. In the process, he exposes the arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to move ahead unchallenged. In other words, Stewart does the work that hospital administrators and supervising physicians in Ohio, South Dakota, and New York should have done.--Ellen Clegg "The Boston Globe"

Stewart tells a riveting tale of terror, a true page-turner.--Jerome E. Groopman "The Wall Street Journal"

Swango's odyssey is so compelling that I became riveted. I needed to know when and how he would be caught, and what ultimately happened to him.--Dr. Robert B. Daroff "The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)"

The facts gathered by Stewart are compelling. [He]...persuasively dissects the medical establishment.--Steve Weinberg "Chicago Tribune"

About the Author

James B. Stewart is a columnist at The New York Times and the author of numerous books including the blockbuster Den of Thieves, Blood Sport, DisneyWar, and his most recent New York Times bestseller, Unscripted. He won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. He is a professor of business journalism at Columbia University and lives in New York.