[Elliott] seems inattentive to what should be important details of the case that was such a focus of his life: He gets the year of Markingson’s death wrong the first time he mentions it, and, in one of the book’s most startling passages, he displays a total lack of curiosity about the fact that Markingson’s mother donated her body to the University of Minnesota after her death ... Clear throughout The Occasional Human Sacrifice is that his anger has roots that extend back to his own time in medical school. His seeming inability to acknowledge this keeps him from reaching the conclusion and call to action that his book cries out for ... Elliott is a nimble and probing thinker who doesn’t shy away from weighty subjects. But considering all that it covers, his book feels incomplete.
Read Full Review >>