"This thoughtful and reflective book offers us a sobering account of the spread of clinical research in a world without borders and often without norms. Based on careful comparative anthropological research, it both casts light on a gray zone where research, medicine, and capitalism merge, and provides a first-rate example of how an anthropology for the twenty-first century can contribute to our understanding and to the public good."--Paul Rabinow, author of Marking Time
"This superb book provides the best overview of the pharmaceutical industry's rush to move clinical trials to developing countries, and the intensely troubling moral, political, economic, and cultural issues this effort raises. Petryna's argument is balanced and compelling, and her case studies are riveting."--Arthur Kleinman, M.D., Harvard University
"This is a very important book, notable for its novel subject, innovative approach, and seriousness. A singular contribution to the anthropology of science and medicine."--Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University