Product Overview
Lively prose and clear organization make this a wonderful book. The Nazi War on Cancer makes a major contribution to the field of Nazi history, with its attention to progressive' concerns within repressive and racialized settings. Rather than normalizing' evil, Proctor refines it in his sustained discussions of the ethical paradoxes he has encountered in his research. --Claudia Koonz, Duke University
This book is interesting, informative, original, well-researched and well-written, and critical yet balanced in its judgments. It breaks new ground, and should attract considerable interest among and beyond historians of science, medicine, and National Socialism. --Mark Walker, Union College
Robert Proctor is an outstanding historian of science and an outstanding historian of the Third Reich. By establishing Nazism's pioneering contributions in the areas of preventive medicine, environmentalism, and public health, he takes us right to the heart of the most difficult questions in the analysis of fascism. His treatment of smoking and cancer will be a revelation. This book troubles the politics and ethics of historical interpretation in the very best ways. --Geoff Eley, author of Reshaping the German Right: Radical Nationalism and Political Change after Bismarck
The Nazi War on Cancer makes a major contribution to the field of Nazi history, with its attention to progressive' concerns within repressive and racialized settings. Rather than normalizing' evil, Proctor refines it in his sustained discussions of the ethical paradoxes he has encountered in his research. --Claudia Koonz, author of Mothers in the Fatherland and The Nazi Conscience (forthcoming)
Racily and wittily written, Proctor's interesting book is a brilliant demonstration of how marginal the Nazi past has become to contemporary health issues. A conclusion long since obvious to the former inhabitants of Bosnia or Rwanda, shot or hacked to death, in the very long shadow of the Holocaust. --Michael Burleigh, author of Ethics and Extermination: Reflections on Nazi Genocide
A profound and provocative analysis of the very essence of medical research and health policy. While Robert Proctor focuses on cancer research in Nazi Germany, his book is a detailed examination of the basic value system underlying medical research and public health policy. This unsettling and fascinating account is a must read' for every medical scientist. --William E. Seidelman, M.D., University of Toronto
This book is a major contribution to the history of science and medicine in the Nazi era. Nazism emerges as a kind of vast hygienic experiment that tried to create an exclusionist utopia, by using both good science' and laudable health drives, along with murderous practices aimed at the Jews and others deemed to be unworthy of life.' The book should be of interest to anyone concerned about the ethical, political, and social implications of modern science. --Robert Gellately, author of The Gestapo and German Society: Enforcing Racial Policy
Robert Proctor has once again produced a brilliant volume that will both fascinate and infuriate readers.... Just as he did in his previous book Racial Hygiene
