Doctor Ice Pick

By: Claire Prentice

Narrated by: Chanté McCormick

A haunting and true short story of the lobotomist who cut a brutal swathe through the lives of thousands of vulnerable Americans from the author of Miracle at Coney Island.

In July 1952, Dr. Walter Freeman arrived at the gates of a West Virginia asylum. In his medical bag he carried two metal picks and a surgical hammer. He had invented a “cheap, easy” ten-minute lobotomy. The press described it as a miracle cure, a new frontier in psychosurgery.

That summer, in just twelve days, Freeman lobotomized 228 men, women, and children in West Virginia’s public mental hospitals. His blitzkrieg of brain surgery became known as “Operation Ice Pick,” named after the tools he wielded.

To some, the doctor was a hero, solving the crisis facing the nation’s underfunded and overcrowded psychiatric institutions. But many who watched him operate saw a dangerous risk-taker, a showman and a charlatan. This is the true story of a scientific pioneer whose misguided quest created one of the biggest tragedies in American medical history.

©2022 Claire Prentice. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

quick and interesting

narration was a little robotic at times but overall it was an excellent listen. I was surprised at how informative the story was without getting too bogged down in the details.

Thousands of people left in limbo by scam artist

I loved listening to it at double speed. Narrator spoke slowly and clearly. The book itself was repetitive as was the procedure. Pointed out necessity for objective, 3rd party assessment of results even for Nobel Prize nominees. Also emphasized role of charisma and relationship in relationships, used in this situation to mask the truth and justify the doctor's treatment to himself.

Well written and absolutely Chilling

What an intense walk through a part of “medical” history.
That one psychologically disconnected person armed with a medical degree could get political, medical, and press support to victimize thousands … in the name of ego … and political budget expediency.
A deep reminder of human beings … and how humanity is not universal among them.

HEARTBREAKING & ALL TOO COMMON MEDICAL STORY…

A well researched and told story of a heartbreaking and all-too-common phenomenon in medicine. That this abhorrent crime was perpetrated on mental patients with genuine psychological conditions is terrible enough and to now know it was routinely and knowingly performed upon seemingly unruly children and women that refused to behave at home is heartbreaking in the extreme although unfortunately unsurprising. This maniacal, Ivy League educated physician cut a swathe of pain, death and horror through the world to feed his insatiable ego; dragging unsuspecting and trusting patients and their families (& frankly, their physicians and caretakers-at least initially) with him. Sadly this is a story we see all too often in the Western medical establishment.

A good time passer

It’s easy to listen to. I was hoping for some more details in to the asylums and patients. All in all not bad