The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery [Paperback]

Monica J. Casper (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813525160
• ISBN-13: 978-0813525167
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a sociologist, a creative writer, and a busy working mom who loves to read. If I can't get to my chosen fiction for at least half an hour every night, I tend to lose my sanity.

I have too many favorite authors to list them all, but a few personal heroines are: Dorothy Allison, Marguerite Duras, Pat Barker, Marge Piercy, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Willa Cather, Studs Terkel, Annie Proulx, Pam Houston, Rick Bragg, and James Lee Burke. My all-time favorite novel is Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, because of its excellent writing, gripping content, and how it made me feel when I read it as a teenager.

I write and edit academic books in my fields: sociology of health and medicine, feminist science and technology studies, disability studies, biopolitics, trauma studies. And I also write creative nonfiction, some of which you can read at: www.monicajcasper.com.

I've also written a children's book, PERRI WINKLE AND THE PURPLE POODLE, which hasn't yet been published.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No easy answers, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery (Paperback)

I found this book to be a fascinating read, from the astounding photo of a fetal foot extended by surgeons' hands from the blank field of a woman's belly, to the behind the scenes look at research ethics. Casper put this experimental work in the context of fetal politics, a needed alternative to the perspective that views virtually all new medical procedures as "miracles." We need more, and more informed, public dialogue about medical experimentation, and we need more studies like Casper's. Her book is richly detailed, politically incisive, and historically and culturally informed. Few readers will be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but a bit outdated already, April 7, 2006

By 

Todd Jenkins (San Bernardino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery (Paperback)

As the parent of a child who underwent fetal surgery for spina bifida (FS4SB), I was especially interested in this book. While it raises some very interesting, thought-provoking issues about medical ethics and "fetal politics", some of its musings are already outdated. It came out less than a year after Vanderbilt University began its remarkably successful program in FS4SB, which has greatly improved the potential quality of life for more than 150 children in the past several years. It's unfortunate that the real, unmistakable medical benefits of this kind of surgery can be overshadowed by the monolith of politics. The social anatomy of fetal surgery has changed radically since this book came out; perhaps it's time for a more insightful, well-balanced update.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars really opened my eyes, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery (Paperback)

I read this book because someone close to me had started working in a hospital that does this type of surgery, and told me some interesting stories. The book really opened my eyes to how fetal surgery and other medical practices are developed. After talking to my friend about it more, I was amazed to find that the types of things described in this book (basically experimenting on patients) are still going on! I think the previous reviewer must either be totally clueless, or is intentially trashing the book because he or she is is somehow invested in fetal surgery and is thus trying to squelsh criticism. Or maybe that person didn't want the moral implications of the issues raised in this book to be discussed. If you are at all interested in this issue, you have got to read this.