When Experiments Travel: Clinical Trials and the Global Search for Human Subjects

Adriana Petryna investigates the strange world of out-sourced clinical trials, and the effects on medicine when trials are being scheduled beyond most oversight, and advanced medical care is available only by becoming a guinea pig. Petryna’s questions are fascinating, and her research impeccable, but she leaves the most interesting questions. As an anthropologist rather than a journalist, she avoids passing judgement (see “White Coat, Black Hat” for that), and I admire her professional detachment, but I wish there had been more of a conclusion.